Turkey is convinced that the new rulers in Syria, including the Ankara-backed Syrian National Army, will push out Kurdish fighters from the People's Protection Units (YPG) from all the territory they hold in northeastern Syria, Turkish Defense Minister Yasar Guler said today, quoted by Reuters, BTA reported.
Ankara considers the YPG to be an offshoot of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), which is designated a terrorist organization by Turkey, the EU and the United States. On the other hand, the SDF is a key element in the US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) coalition.
Since the fall of Bashar al-Assad's regime two weeks ago, Turkey and the Syrian groups it supports have been fighting the SDF, capturing the city of Manbij.
“We believe that the new leadership of Syria and the Syrian National Army, which is an important part of its armed forces, together with the Syrian people, will liberate all territories occupied by terrorist organizations“, Guler said today during a visit to Turkish units on the Syrian border with military commanders.
“We will also take all necessary measures with the same determination until all terrorist elements beyond our borders are cleared“, the Turkish defense minister said.
Ankara insists that the armed Syrian Kurdish groups disband and called on Washington to withdraw its support for them.
Last week, the US military admitted that it had 2,000 troops on the ground in Syria - twice as many as previously reported.
On Saturday, in an interview with France 24 television, Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan confirmed that he was planning a visit to Damascus in the near future.
He said that Turkey had noticed an increase in US troops in Syria in recent weeks under the pretext of "fighting Daesh" (i.e., "Islamic State").
“The phrase "fighting Daesh" is always used as an excuse. Some things need to be properly defined. What they call the "fight against Daesh" is actually one task: keeping Daesh prisoners in prison. That's all. Unfortunately, our American friends and some of our European friends are using another terrorist organization to keep terrorists in prison," Fidan said.
He stressed the need to reach a mutual understanding with the US on issues such as keeping "Islamic State" prisoners in prison, eliminating the PKK, guaranteeing the fundamental rights and freedoms of Kurds, Arabs and Turkmens, and ensuring security in the country.
When asked about the possibility of Turkey conducting an operation against the PKK in northeastern Syria, Fidan said that "this artificial terrorist organization (PKK) must be eliminated immediately. Today, there is a new government in Syria. I think they should take up this (…) This time is preferable, but if that doesn't happen, then, of course, we will have to protect our own national security“.