Washington in Talks with NATO to Provide Turkey Military Aid in Syria

FILE PHOTO: James Jeffrey, the US envoy for Syria, is pictured outside the Boynuyogun refugee camp near Hatay, Turkey, March 3, 2020.REUTERS/Mehmet Emin Caliskan
FILE PHOTO: James Jeffrey, the US envoy for Syria, is pictured outside the Boynuyogun refugee camp near Hatay, Turkey, March 3, 2020.REUTERS/Mehmet Emin Caliskan
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Washington in Talks with NATO to Provide Turkey Military Aid in Syria

FILE PHOTO: James Jeffrey, the US envoy for Syria, is pictured outside the Boynuyogun refugee camp near Hatay, Turkey, March 3, 2020.REUTERS/Mehmet Emin Caliskan
FILE PHOTO: James Jeffrey, the US envoy for Syria, is pictured outside the Boynuyogun refugee camp near Hatay, Turkey, March 3, 2020.REUTERS/Mehmet Emin Caliskan

Washington is discussing with its NATO allies what they can offer Turkey in terms of military assistance in Syria's Idlib, officials said on Tuesday.

It's also discussing measures that may be taken if Russia and the Syrian regime breaks a ceasefire, the officials added.

“We are looking at what NATO can do,” James Jeffrey, the US special envoy for Syria, told reporters in a conference call from Brussels where he was holding talks with allies.

“Everything is on table.”

Jeffrey, who was speaking alongside the US ambassador to Turkey David Satterfield, ruled out the use of ground troops should the ceasefire be broken and repeated that Ankara needed to clarify its stance on purchase of the Russian S400 Air Defence System.

Earlier, Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said he was look for "concrete support" from NATO allies in regard to Syria's conflict.

"We expect concrete support from all our allies to this struggle," adding that "NATO is in a critical process in which it needs to clearly show its alliance solidarity" with Turkey.



France Declines to Comment on Algeria’s Anger over Recognition of Morocco’s Claim over Sahara

French President Emmanuel Macron and Algerian President Abdelmadjid Tebboune. (AFP file)
French President Emmanuel Macron and Algerian President Abdelmadjid Tebboune. (AFP file)
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France Declines to Comment on Algeria’s Anger over Recognition of Morocco’s Claim over Sahara

French President Emmanuel Macron and Algerian President Abdelmadjid Tebboune. (AFP file)
French President Emmanuel Macron and Algerian President Abdelmadjid Tebboune. (AFP file)

Paris declined to comment on Algeria’s “strong condemnation” of the French government’s decision to recognize Morocco’s claim over the Sahara.

The office of the French Foreign Ministry refused to respond to an AFP request for a comment on the Algeria’s stance.

It did say that further comments could impact the trip Algerian President Abdelmadjid Tebboune is set to make to France in late September or early October.

The visit has been postponed on numerous occasions over disagreements between the two countries.

France had explicitly expressed its constant and clear support for the autonomy rule proposal over the Sahara during Foreign Minister Stephane Sejourne’s visit to Morocco in February, reported AFP.

The position has helped improve ties between Rabat and Paris.

On Thursday, the Algerian Foreign Ministry expressed “great regret and strong denunciation" about the French government's decision to recognize an autonomy plan for the Western Sahara region "within Moroccan sovereignty”.

Algeria was informed of the decision by France in recent days, an Algerian foreign ministry statement added.

The ministry also said Algeria would draw all the consequences from the decision and hold the French government alone completely responsible.