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.



Iran Rejects Accusations it Interfered in Syria

Women smoke a water pipe as they sit on a lookout area at the mount Qasioun in Damascus, Syria, Dec. 21, 2024. (AP Photo/Leo Correa)
Women smoke a water pipe as they sit on a lookout area at the mount Qasioun in Damascus, Syria, Dec. 21, 2024. (AP Photo/Leo Correa)
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Iran Rejects Accusations it Interfered in Syria

Women smoke a water pipe as they sit on a lookout area at the mount Qasioun in Damascus, Syria, Dec. 21, 2024. (AP Photo/Leo Correa)
Women smoke a water pipe as they sit on a lookout area at the mount Qasioun in Damascus, Syria, Dec. 21, 2024. (AP Photo/Leo Correa)

Iran's foreign ministry on Thursday expressed “concern” over “the spread of chaos and violence” in Syria and rejected accusations that Tehran interfered in Syria, after the new Syrian foreign minister told Tehran not to spread chaos in his country.
"We reject the baseless accusations by some media ... against Iran over interfering in Syria's internal affairs," Iran's foreign ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baghaei was quoted as saying by state media.
"It is necessary to prevent the spread of insecurity and violence ... and ensure the security of Syrian citizens," he added.

Syria's newly appointed foreign minister, Asaad Hassan al-Shibani, said on Tuesday that Iran must respect the will of the Syrian people and Syria's sovereignty and security.

"We warn them against spreading chaos in Syria and we hold them accountable for the repercussions of the latest remarks," he said.

On Sunday, Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei called on Syrian youth to "stand with firm determination against those who have orchestrated and brought about this insecurity.”

Khamenei forecast "that a strong and honorable group will also emerge in Syria because today Syrian youth have nothing to lose,” calling the country unsafe.

The former commander of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps, Mohsen Rezaee, said that the Syrian people “will not remain silent in the face of foreign occupation and aggression” or “the tyranny of an internal group.”

He added: "They will revive the resistance in Syria in a new form in less than a year."

"They will fail the malicious and deceptive plan led by America, the Zionist entity, and the regional countries that have been manipulated,” he added.