Macron Supports Kurdish Forces in Northeast, Offers Mediation with Turkey
MESOPOTAMIA NEWS Syria: “JUST WORDS!”
By Scott Lucas – March 30, 2018 – France’s President Emmanuel Macron has given assurances of support to the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces in northeast Syria, with Kurdish officials saying Paris was committing to sending troops to the region.“The President … paid tribute to the sacrifices and the determining role of the SDF in the fight against Daesh [Islamic State],” Macron’s office said. The statement comes as the Kurdish militia YPG, which leads the SDF, has been driven out of the Kurdish canton of Afrin in northwest Syria after a nine-week offensive by Turkey and the Free Syrian Army.
The YPG, the military branch of the Syrian Kurdistan Democratic Union Party (PYD), has lost Afrin city and almost all towns and is now surrounded in the key border town of Tal Rifaat. Significantly, the statement by Macron’s office covered only the Kobani and Cezire cantons in the north and east: “He assured the SDF of France’s support for the stabilization of the security zone in the north-east of Syria, within the framework of an inclusive and balanced governance, to prevent any resurgence of Islamic State.”
Paris also did not refer to tension over the fate of Manbij, the city in eastern Aleppo Province captured by the SDF from ISIS in August 2016. On Thursday, the Turkish National Security Council, led by President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, demanded the withdrawal of the YPG from the city and its retreat east of the Euphrates River.
So far the US, which backs the SDF, has held out against the demand. Last month the American general leading the anti-ISIS coalition visited Manbij in a show of support.
Macron’s statement on Friday followed his first meeting with a delegation from the PYD and YPG and including Christian and Arab officials. On Tuesday, the French President spoke with Donald Trump about the situation.
Khaled Eissa, the PYD’s representative in Paris, said, “There will be reinforcements to help secure from attacks by Islamic State and stop a foreign aggression. It’s message that this irresponsible action from the Islamists in Ankara stops.”
Eissa also said Macron had pledged humanitarian assistance and a push for a diplomatic solution. Turkey considers the PYD and YPG to be part of the Turkish Kurdish insurgency PKK, which has battled security forces for more than 30 years.
The French Presidency would not say whether Paris was sending troops. In the statement, it said Macron is offering to mediate between Ankara and the SDF, saying the latter has distanced itself from the PKK: “Acknowledging the commitment of the SDF to have no operational link with this terrorist group…he hopes that a dialogue could be established between the SDF and Turkey with France and the international community’s help.”