Turkey says Russia understands Turkish stance on Kurdish YPG militia

FILE PHOTO - Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu speaks during a news conference after an extraordinary meeting of the OIC Executive Committee in Istanbul, Turkey, August 1, 2017. REUTERS/Murad Sezer

ANKARA (Reuters) - Russia understands Turkey's stance on the Kurdish YPG militia better than the United States, Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said on Wednesday.

Washington is arming YPG forces fighting Islamic State in Syria, alarming NATO ally Turkey which regards them as an extension of the outlawed militant Kurdish PKK group which has waged an insurgency in southeast Turkey since the 1980s.