Blinken meets Erdogan as talks about Syria gets underway
13/12/2024 6:11
U.S. Secretary of State
Antony Blinken arrived in Turkey on Thursday for talks focused
on a critical aspect of establishing stability in Syria: clashes
in the north of the country between U.S.-backed Kurdish forces
and Turkey-backed rebels.
Blinken met President Tayyip Erdogan at Ankara's Esenboga
Airport after visiting Jordan on his first trip to the region
since Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's government was ousted
on Sunday.
The Turkish presidency shared a photo from Erdogan's meeting
with Blinken in a post on X, but did not share details about the
talks.
Blinken will meet Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan on
Friday.
NATO allies Washington and Ankara supported Syrian rebels
during the 13-year civil war, but their interests notably
clashed when it came to one of the rebel factions - the
Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces.
The SDF is the main ally in a U.S. coalition against Islamic
State militants. It is spearheaded by the People's Protection
Units (YPG), which Ankara sees as an extension of Kurdistan
Workers Party (PKK) militants that it outlaws and that have
fought the Turkish state for 40 years.
Before arriving in Ankara, Blinken said the PKK is an
"enduring threat" to Turkey.
"At the same time ... we want to avoid sparking any kinds of
additional conflicts inside of Syria at a time when we want to
see this transition to an interim government and to a better way
forward," he said.
Syria is expected to top the agenda of Blinken's talks, a
Turkish official said on condition of anonymity, adding Ankara
is ready to support Syria as a safe and stable place governed by
an inclusive government.
NORTHERN SYRIA
Earlier this week, Turkish-backed forces seized the northern
city of Manbij from the U.S.-backed SDF, which then headed east
of the Euphrates River. A Syrian opposition source told Reuters
the U.S. and Turkey had reached an agreement on the withdrawal.
A Turkish defence ministry official said on Thursday the
advance on Manbij aimed to "clear terrorism".
The official warned about unspecified efforts to provide
cover for the PKK by flagging risks related to Islamic State,
adding that Ankara has told Washington that one terrorist group
cannot be used to eliminate another.
Blinken said on Monday that Islamic State will try to use
this period to re-establish capabilities in Syria, but the
United States is determined not to let that happen.
Some SDF fighters also withdrew from Tel Refaat and parts of
Aleppo to the west in the early days of the lightning rebel
offensive that swept south across the country.
Turkey also directly targeted the YPG in recent days with
its intelligence agency destroying 12 trucks loaded with
missiles and heavy weapons in northeast Syria.
|