Turkey has linked a potential military operation targeting the People’s Defense Units (YPG) in Syria to the US and Russia fulfilling their promises on pushing the Kurdish group’s elements 30 kilometers away from Turkey’s southern borders.
It is noteworthy that the YPG makes up the largest US-backed Syria Democratic Forces (SDF) component.
Neither Russia nor the US kept their promises on withdrawing the YPG from agreed areas, Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said Thursday.
“The YPG/PKK’s attacks have increased. In this situation, we have to do what is necessary on our own,” he said during a televised interview with CNN Turk.
“They did not keep their promises so far. On the contrary, the US continued to support them (YPG).”
The US and Russia were supposed to push the YPG elements 30 kilometers to the south from the areas in control of Washington and Moscow, Turkey’s top diplomat said.
He said that Erdoğan and Russian President Vladimir Putin discussed these issues at their meeting in the Black Sea resort of Sochi, while it is also expected to be on the agenda of the Turkish president’s meeting with US President Joe Biden on the sidelines of COP26.
Two Turkish police officers were killed and two others wounded as a result of the YPG attack in Azaz, northern Syria this month. The YPG attacked an armored vehicle with a guided missile in the Operation Euphrates Shield area. The attack was launched from the Tal Rifaat region.
On talks with Russia and the US on Syria, Cavusoglu said: “We came up with the idea of holding a meeting with the US and countries that share our same ideas about Syria, or a meeting of the International Syria Support Group. We’re working on that.”
Cavusoglu added that there is a need for such a meeting, and he sent a message to both Russia and Iran, the main supporters of the Syrian regime, and said, “You have seen that a military solution is not possible, explain that to the Syrian regime.”
Turkey’s top diplomat stressed that his country would do what is necessary to repel YPG attacks from northern Syria.
He pointed out that the recent terrorist attack in Damascus and the regime’s attacks in Idlib had a negative impact on the latest round of constitutional talks in Geneva.
