Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan says White House national security adviser John Bolton made "a serious mistake" when he commented on a potential Turkish offensive against the Syrian Kurdish militia.
"It is not possible that we accept or swallow the message Bolton gave in Israel," Erdogan said in Ankara on Tuesday.
- US won't leave Syria unless Turkey promises not to kill Kurds
- US pulling out of Syria, citing defeat of Islamic State
Bolton was in Ankara on Tuesday and met Erdogan's spokesman and security adviser Ibrahim Kalin earlier in the day.
Prior to his arrival in Turkey, Bolton had stressed that the US wanted protection guarantees from Turkey for the Kurds fighting in Syria.
"We can never compromise on this issue," Erdogan said, as he pledged "those within the terror corridor in Syria will learn the necessary lesson," during a meeting of his ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) in parliament.
The Kurdish People's Protection Units (YPG) in Syria are important US allies in the fight against Islamic State. But Ankara regards the YPG, which controls territories on the border with Turkey, as a terrorist organisation linked to insurgents inside Turkey.
Erdogan said Turkey was preparing to "take action very soon to neutralise those terrorist groups on Syrian soil," including the Islamic State extremists. He cited "a deal we have reached" with US President Donald Trump.
Turkey earlier said it would actively take part in the fight against Islamic State after the announced withdrawal of US troops from Syria.
Reuters
