Bass, who held meetings with senior Turkish officials in Ankara over the last two days, told Rudaw during a virtual press briefing that the US acknowledges Turkey’s concerns about “the extent to which foreign terrorists, including the PKK, have at times, taken advantage of the situation inside Syria,” referring to the Kurdistan Workers’ Party.
He said some people and governments see the presence of around 2,000 American troops in Syria as a “reassurance” while others might exploit it to target Turkish interests.
Washington is “aware that some groups or individuals might seek to take advantage of the presence of US forces to engage in activities which undercut the security of one of the neighboring countries, including Turkey, and we do not want to see that result,” he noted.
“We are being very careful as a result of that perspective that we have to make sure that any adjustments that we might make to our presence and the activities that the United States forces inside Syria are engaged in to ensure that it doesn't increase risk or jeopardy for the neighboring countries,” he added.
US troops have been in the Kurdish-held northeast Syria (Rojava) for a decade, helping the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) in the fight against the Islamic State (ISIS). Kurds have hoped that their presence would also protect them against attacks by Turkey and its allied Syrian militia groups.
Turkey claims that the Kurdish forces who control Rojava are affiliated with the PKK, which has been in a decades-long conflict with Ankara.
