Türkiye Pressing US to Rethink Kurdish Alliance in Syria

Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan takes part in a joint statement after he meets with his Greek counterpart Giorgos Gerapetritis (not pictured) in Athens, Greece, 08 November 2024. (EPA)
Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan takes part in a joint statement after he meets with his Greek counterpart Giorgos Gerapetritis (not pictured) in Athens, Greece, 08 November 2024. (EPA)
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Türkiye Pressing US to Rethink Kurdish Alliance in Syria

Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan takes part in a joint statement after he meets with his Greek counterpart Giorgos Gerapetritis (not pictured) in Athens, Greece, 08 November 2024. (EPA)
Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan takes part in a joint statement after he meets with his Greek counterpart Giorgos Gerapetritis (not pictured) in Athens, Greece, 08 November 2024. (EPA)

Türkiye is pressing the United States to reconsider its support for Kurdish militants in Syria, according to comments by its leaders including President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who has again floated the possibility of a new cross-border offensive.

"We are constantly reminding our American counterparts that they need to stop the cooperation they have with the terrorist organization in Syria," Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan was quoted on Monday as telling the Milliyet newspaper.

"Our contacts on this issue have increased. We see that the US side is keen on more talks and negotiations too," he added.

On Sunday, Erdogan said Türkiye could mount a new offensive into northern Syria to create new safe zones along its border, after saying on Friday that he would discuss a possible US troop withdrawal from Syria with President-elect Donald Trump.

Strains in US-Türkiye ties include US support for the Syrian Kurdish YPG group, Washington's main ally against ISIS in Syria. Ankara calls it a terrorist organization and extension of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), which the United States also deems a terror group.

NATO member Türkiye has carried out several cross-border operations against the YPG in recent years and has since threatened more.

Erdogan said on Sunday these moves established safe zones in Syria that had "thwarted attempts to surround" it from the southern borders, and Türkiye was determined to "completely cut off contact between terrorist organizations."

"God willing, we will complete the missing links of the safe zone we have established along our borders in coming period," he said.

In recent months Erdogan has also made overtures to repair severed ties with Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's government after a decade of animosity.

Ankara has complained that Damascus has not reciprocated its attempts at rapprochement, after Erdogan said in July he wanted to invite Assad for talks. Assad said those attempts have yielded no results and Damascus wants Turkish troops to withdraw from Syrian territories.



Blinken Speaks to Israel’s Dermer about Humanitarian Situation in Gaza

 A man sits on rubble of a house destroyed in an Israeli strike at the Nuseirat refugee camp, central Gaza Strip, on November 12, 2024, amid the ongoing war between Israel and the Palestinian group Hamas. (AFP)
A man sits on rubble of a house destroyed in an Israeli strike at the Nuseirat refugee camp, central Gaza Strip, on November 12, 2024, amid the ongoing war between Israel and the Palestinian group Hamas. (AFP)
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Blinken Speaks to Israel’s Dermer about Humanitarian Situation in Gaza

 A man sits on rubble of a house destroyed in an Israeli strike at the Nuseirat refugee camp, central Gaza Strip, on November 12, 2024, amid the ongoing war between Israel and the Palestinian group Hamas. (AFP)
A man sits on rubble of a house destroyed in an Israeli strike at the Nuseirat refugee camp, central Gaza Strip, on November 12, 2024, amid the ongoing war between Israel and the Palestinian group Hamas. (AFP)

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken emphasized the importance of improving the humanitarian situation in Gaza in a meeting with Israeli Minister of Strategic Affairs Ron Dermer in Washington on Monday, the State Department said.

Dermer updated Blinken on operational changes and policy decisions taken by Israel in response to a US letter sent in October, the department said in a statement on Tuesday.

Blinken "emphasized the importance of ensuring those changes lead to an actual improvement in the dire humanitarian situation in Gaza, including through the delivery of additional assistance to civilians throughout Gaza," State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller said in the statement.