RTFri, 16 Feb 2018 09:30 UTC
© Hurriyet Daily NewsUS Secretary of State Rex Tillerson โข Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu
Washington and Ankara are making an effort to mend relations, strained over the former's support of Kurdish forces in Syria. During a visit to Ankara, the US secretary of state said the ties were "too important."
Rex Tillerson tried to reassure Ankara over US's involvement with the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), much of which is comprised of Kurdish YPG, outlawed in Turkey as a terrorist organization.
"We take it seriously when our NATO ally says it has security concerns," Tillerson said at a joint news conference with his Turkish counterpart Mevlut Cavusoglu on Friday. "We have always been clear with Turkey that the weapons provided to the Syrian Democratic Forces would be limited, mission specific, and provided on the incremental basis to achieve military objectives only."
Both Tillerson and Cavusoglu that the countries have found themselves at "a crisis point," and have agreed to address "critical issues" in the bilateral relations. "We've decided, and President Erdogan decided last night, we needed to talk about how do we go forward? The relationship is too important," Tillerson said.
He said that
the "priority" was to address the situation around Manbij, which Turkey earlier threatened to target in its offensive in Syria. The city is controlled by Kurds and is used by the US military to support Kurdish operations against Islamic State (IS, formerly ISIS).
Ankara now demands Washington to give guarantees over the withdrawal of the Kurdish YPG forces from Manbij, which could lead to Turkey and US joint deployment in the area. "What is important is
who will govern and provide security to these areas," Cavusoglu said. "We will coordinate to restore stability in Manbij and other cities. We will start with Manbij. After YPG leaves there, we can take steps with the US based on trust."
On Thursday,
Turkish Defense Minister Nurettin Canikli asked Washington to end its support for Kurdish fighters and to remove them from the US-backed SDF. Canliki said he told his US counterpart, Jim Mattis, that Washington's support for the Syrian Kurdish YPG militia has helped Kurdish rebels in Turkey "grow and strengthen," posing an increasingly "existential" threat to Turkey.
Comment: A conundrum. A juggling act. Too many players in Syria with differing objectives and agendas. Should the US and Turkey be the deciders for this area? Or is it still Syrian soil and Syria's responsibility...the elephant in the room.
More from
Fort Russ:
"We will closely coordinate on the final defeat of ISIS and other terror groups located in Syria," [Tillerson] said. "US and Turkey objectives in Syria are the same - defeat ISIS, stabilize the country, return IDPs, and support a political solution that results in a unified, democratic Syria with no internal divisions," he continued.
During the press conference, Cavusoglu revealed that the Kurdish People's Protection Units (YPG) will be withdrawn from Manbij in northern Syria, where a US military base is located, and was a major point of contention. "US-Turkey coordination will start with Manbij. The US has promised the YPG will leave the Manbij region. Once the YPG leave, based on trust, we can take steps forward with the USA," Cavusoglu said.
In light of this new understanding, Tillerson expressed hope of bettering relations with Turkey. "US and Turkey are locking arms. We're not going to act alone any longer... We are going to act together from this point forward," Tillerson said.
It appears the Kurdish YPG are out of luck in the US-Turkey version of the Manbij sift-off. It is unclear from these two reports whether Ankara is currently demanding the US remove Kurds from Manbij or the US has already agreed on this action. OK with the Kurds?
Comment: A conundrum. A juggling act. Too many players in Syria with differing objectives and agendas. Should the US and Turkey be the deciders for this area? Or is it still Syrian soil and Syria's responsibility...the elephant in the room.
More from Fort Russ: It appears the Kurdish YPG are out of luck in the US-Turkey version of the Manbij sift-off. It is unclear from these two reports whether Ankara is currently demanding the US remove Kurds from Manbij or the US has already agreed on this action. OK with the Kurds?