Pentagon says it’s not in crisis with Turkey amid Afrin operation

WASHINGTON - Anadolu Agency

The Pentagon said on Jan. 25 that there was no crisis between Turkey and the U.S. amid Turkey’s “Operation Olive Branch” in Syria’s Afrin.

“We’re not in a crisis, we’re - Turkey is an ally, and we’re going to work with them,” the Pentagon’s chief spokesperson Dana White told reporters.

“But this current - this current issue, is a distraction. And we have to focus as allies and on the mission at hand, and that’s defeating ISIL,” White said

On the question about possible safe zones along the Syrian border, White said Turkey has “legitimate security concerns.”

“We’re going to continue to engage with them,” she added.

Joint Staff Director Lt. Gen. Kenneth McKenzie, who was also with White during the briefing, said: “Clearly we continue to talk to Turks about the possibility of a secure zone, whatever you want to call it. We’ve looked at that for a couple of years in various different iterations, and - and no final decision on it yet.” 

McKenzie added that the Turkish operation in Afrin would make it “hard to focus on why we are in Syria, which is the defeat of ISIS,” using another acronym for ISIL.

He echoed White’s comments, saying, “Turkey has a legitimate national security interest and they are very close to the problem.”

“We haven’t trained or provided equipment for any of the Kurds that are in the Afrin pocket. You know we tend to - we’re focused on the Euphrates River Valley, operations to the south and to the east,” he added.