Türkiye, US in talks on YPG threat in northern Syria
ANKARA
US forces patrol in Syria's northeastern Hasakeh city, in the province of the same name, on Dec. 30, 2024.
Türkiye and the United States are in fresh talks for resolving the problem of the presence of YPG in northern Syria which threatens the security of both Türkiye and Syria.
U.S. acting undersecretary for political affairs, John Bass, arrived in the Turkish capital Ankara for a two-day trip to meet senior Turkish officials to discuss a wide range of issues concerning Syria after the fall of the Assad regime in December.
The visit comes as Türkiye has increased its tone against YPG, which controls the Syrian territories in the eastern Euphrates and partners with the U.S. in the fight against ISIL.
Türkiye lists YPG as a terrorist organization with links to PKK. It says the former should disband itself and its non-Syrian members should leave the country or should face the consequences of a probable military operation.
In a statement on Jan. 9, Defense Ministry sources underlined that the Turkish Armed Forces are determined to block the efforts of YPG to destabilize the region by using strategic infrastructures like Syria’s Tishrin Dam.
YPG has deployed civilians as human shields around the dam, the sources informed, stressing this constitutes a serious violation of human rights.
“The use of civilians as human shields by terrorist groups for their own interests is not only an inhumane approach, but also an act that shows their desperation and moral bankruptcy,” they said.
Developments in the region are of great importance for both Syria's internal security and Türkiye's border security, the sources added, reiterating that YPG should lay down its arms.
The Turkish Armed Forces are determined to continue its cross-border operations to quell the threat posed by YPG, sources recalled, “This determination will be maintained until all terrorist elements threatening peace in the region are eliminated in order to put an end to the activities of terrorist organizations within the framework of international law and the principle of the right to self-defense of the United Nations Charter.”
US recognizes Türkiye’s security concerns
The U.S. has around 2,000 troops in eastern Syria in partnership with YPG in the fight against ISIL.
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken, in a statement late on Jan. 8, underlined the fact that Türkiye has serious security concerns over YPG’s presence, and they are in talks with Ankara on how to address it.
Preventing the resurrection of ISIL is an enduring interest of the U.S. and this will be the case for the incoming Trump administration, Blinken said, underlining the importance of the continued struggle against the group.
“So we’ve been working very closely as well with our ally, our partner, in Türkiye – which has very legitimate concerns of course about the PKK and about terrorism – to navigate this transition, to navigate it in a way that I think leads to a resolution of many of those concerns, including over time with the integration of the Syrian Democratic Forces into Syrian national forces, including with the departure of foreign members of that force to their own countries, including with a resolution of questions around oil, around borders, et cetera, but that’s a process that’s going to take some time,” he stated.