MESOP NEWS Syria Daily: Turkey Proclaims “Understanding” with US Over Kurdish PKK/PYD Militia

By  Scott Lucas – eaworldview – February 17, 2018 – Turkey has announced an “understanding to normalize ties” with the US, as it presses Washington to detach itself from a Syrian Kurdish militia, or at least force the YPG to withdraw from Syria.

Acknowledging “a bit of a crisis point in the relationship”, Secretary of State Rex Tillerson spokes with Turkish officials in Ankara, including discussions with President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu, during a two-day visit.

On the eve of the talks, Turkish Defense Minister Nurettin Canikli demanded the expulsion of the YPG from Syria, “We want them to end all the support given to the Syrian arm of [the Turkish Kurdish insurgency] PKK, the YPG.”

The YPG is the leading element of the Syrian Democratic Forces, created by the US in autumn 2015 to push back the Islamic State in northern Syria. Ankara considers the militia to be part of the insurgency that has fought Turkish security forces for more than 30 years.On Thursday, Turkish officials said Erdoğan had “clearly” told Tillerson in a three-hour encounter about Turkey’s priorities and expectations from the US.

But on Friday, Çavuşoğlu was more conciliatory at a joint press conference, saying the two sides have agreed to “establish mechanisms” to solve disagreements.A Turkish official said Ankara has proposed that Turkish and US forces could deploy jointly in Manbij, the city in eastern Aleppo Province captured by the SDF from ISIS in summer 2016.

As Turkey and Syrian rebels have pursued an offensive against the YPG in the Kurdish canton of Afrin in northwest Syria, Erdoğan has also threatened an attack on Manbij, 100 km (60 miles) to the east.Neither Çavuşoğlu nor Tillerson spoke directly of a Manbij proposal but the Foreign Minister said Turkey could take joint steps with the US in Syria once the YPG left Manbij and the surrounding area:

What is important is who will govern and provide security to these areas. 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.

The Secretary of State pronounced: We’re going to act together from this point forward. We’re going to lock arms. We’re going to work through the issues that are causing difficulties for us and we’re going to resolve them.The United States made commitments to Turkey previously, we’ve not completed fulfilling those commitments. Through the working group, we’re going to address that and Manbij is going to receive priority.When the SDF took Manbij in 2016, some US officials said the Kurdish-led force would eventually pull back east of the Euphrates River, but others were noncommittal. Turkey has always maintained that the Euphrates is a “red line” for Kurdish autonomy in northeast Syria.

Çavuşoğlu said the “mechanism” for further talks would meet again by mid-March.

Regarding the Turkish-rebel offensive on Afrin, Tillerson said he recognized Turkey’s legitimate right to defend its borders, but called on Ankara to show restraint and avoid actions that would escalate tensions.

US officials said Tillerson warned Erdoğan on Thursday that “Operation Olive Branch” is a distraction from the fight against ISIS.

“It’s not just Manbij. We have to think about all of northern Syria,” the Secretary of State said at the press conference. www.mesop.de