MESOPOTAMIA NEWS INSIDE REPORT ON PKK/PYD DESTINY IN SYRIA – ROJAVA

 Erdogan vows to crush US allies in Syria – AL MONITOR  19 Nov 2018

“Turkey may have secured a higher profile for itself in Syria recently, especially after working out a cease-fire for Idlib with Russia and Erdogan’s hosting of an international Syria conference attended by the leaders of Russia, France and Germany,” writes Semih Idiz. “Nevertheless, Ankara still has to come up with a response to the US position on northern Syria.”

“The United States persisted with its seemingly conflicting policy of conducting patrols with Turkish troops in Manbij west of the Euphrates while cooperating with the PKK-affiliated YPG to the east,” adds Fehim Tastekin. PKK stands for the Kurdistan Workers Party Turkish rebel group; the YPG is the Syrian Kurdish People’s Protection Units.

“The Turks are concerned that the United States is digging in for the long haul in Syria to secure a region for the Kurds from where it can maintain its military foothold with a view to containing Iran,” reports Idiz. “Expectations were high that the planned meeting between [Turkish President Recep Tayyip] Erdogan and [US] President Donald Trump in Paris over the weekend would help to iron out remaining issues. The differences over northern Syria, however, remain very much in place and may have become more intractable after [US Syria envoy James] Jeffrey effectively gave notice to Turkey that it will have to come to terms with the US-YPG/PYD alliance.” The PYD is the Syrian Kurdish Democratic Union Party.Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has vowed to “crush the terror outfit,” referring to the US-backed YPG, east of the Euphrates in Syria, propelling Ankara further along on a collision course with Washington.

Turkish artillery attacks Oct. 26 on Tell Abyad, Kobani and Zor Mughar reportedly killed 16 PKK-affiliated YPG fighters, and appeared to get Washington’s attention. The US offer of a $12 million bounty for PKK leaders Murat Karayilan, Cemil Bayik and Duran Kalka was welcomed by Turkey, but did not address the increasingly irreconcilable differences between Washington and Ankara.

“Although the bounty might have put the brakes on Turkey’s operation plans against Tell Abyad and Ras al-Ayn, the reality remains that Ankara wants to expand its operations east of the Euphrates against Kurdish enclaves in northern Syria,” writes Tastekin. “According to Cevdet Yilmaz, vice chairman of the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP), ‘Turkey will intervene when it decides the time is right.’”

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