US never gave 'heavy arms' to Kurdish YPG in Syria: Tillerson

BEIRUT: US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson said Thursday Washington has never supplied heavy weaponry in Syria to the Kurdish People's Protection Units (YPG), which Ankara blacklists as a terror group.

"We have never given heavy arms to the YPG so there is none to take back," Tillerson said in response to a question at a press conference in the Lebanese capital Beirut before heading for Ankara.

Turkey has repeatedly accused the United States of massively arming the YPG, and has said Washington must gather up its weapons now that the peak of the fight against militants has passed.

Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan earlier this month accused Washington of sending in 5,000 truckloads of weapons to the YPG in Syria, as well as 2,000 planeloads of arms.

"The United States says 'we have cleansed (the area) of Daesh'," Erdogan said, using an Arabic acronym for the group.

"So if you have cleansed it from Daesh then why are you still here?" he asked.