Turkey slams U.S. over extremist-sponsoring remarks

ANKARA, Dec. 13 (Xinhua) -- Turkish Foreign Ministry on Wednesday slammed the U.S. National Security Advisor H.R. McMaster for his claim that Turkey and Qatar have become "the main sponsors" of extremist Islamic ideologies that targets the West.

The foreign ministry blast the allegations as "astonishing, baseless and unacceptable," saying that McMaster should have been best placed to judge Turkey's "ceaseless combat against terrorism and radicalism in all its forms and manifestations."

The foreign ministry also reiterated in its statement Ankara's expectation for the United States to halt all cooperation and support for the Kurdish People's Protection Units, which is alleged by Turkey to be affiliated with the outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party.

McMaster reportedly on Tuesday accused Turkey and Qatar as "main sponsors" of extremist Islamic ideologies during a panel held at a British think tank in Washington, adding that Turkey's problems with the West were mainly due to the rise of the ruling Justice and Development Party, which Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan belongs to. Enditem