Unilateral military operation by Ankara into northeast Syria would be of ‘grave concern’: Pentagon spox

ERBIL, Kurdistan Region — A US Pentagon official said Saturday that any single-handed military operation by Turkey in northeast Syria would cause “grave concern” to Washington hours after President Erdogan threatened to launch a solo operation against Kurdish forces in the area. 

"Any uncoordinated military operation by Turkey would be of grave concern as it would undermine our shared interest of a secure northeast Syria and the enduring defeat of ISIS [Islamic State]," Commander Sean Robertson, a Pentagon spokesman, told Rudaw via email on Saturday. 

In apparent frustration at US-Turkey joint operation progress, Turkey’s president threatened earlier Saturday to launch a military operation into northeastern Syria, where US troops are deployed and have been trying to defuse tension between Washington’s two allies — Ankara and the Syrian Kurds.

The Turkish leader has repeatedly expressed his frustration with Washington’s support for Kurdish groups in Syria. His threats continued despite a deal reached with Washington in August to carry out joint patrols and move Kurdish fighters away from the border.

“We have given all kinds of warning regarding the east of the Euphrates to the relevant parties. We have acted with enough patience,” Erdogan said, adding their operation could commence "maybe today, maybe tomorrow."

But Robertson refuted the idea that joint operations were moving too slowly, saying they are “on time, or ahead of schedule, in many areas.” 

Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces said it is committed to the agreement between Turkey and the US to preserve stability in the region, but issued a stern warning in the face of Erdogan’s threats.

“We will not hesitate to turn any unprovoked attack by Turkey into an all-out war on the entire border to DEFEND ourselves and our people,” the spokesman for the SDF Mustafa Bali tweeted Saturday.

#SDF is committed to the security mechanism framework and has been taking necessary steps to preserve stability in the region. However we will not hesitate to turn any unprovoked attack by Turkey into an all-out war on the entire border to DEFEND ourselves and our people.

— Mustafa Bali (@mustefabali) October 5, 2019

Turkey views the People’s Protection Units, or YPG, as an extension of a Kurdish insurgency within its own borders, and expects the US to stop supporting them. The group, loosely linked with the SDF, forms the core of US-backed Syrian forces against ISIS.

Robertson expressed continued Pentagon committal to counter-ISIS operations in northeastern Syria, saying the US has been "extremely clear" towards Ankara that "even after the territorial defeat of ISIS, its resurgence remains a threat” in the area.

Turkey and the US disagree on the size of the area to be monitored by the joint patrols, and also on who is to oversee it. Turkey wants its soldiers to monitor an area as deep as 30 kilometers (19 miles). The US and the Kurds have identified an area only as deep as 14 kilometers (9 miles) deep.

Related: Turkey threatens solo army operation in northeast Syria

Addressing reporters on Friday, Secretary of Defense Mark Esper said he had engaged in a “long conversation” with his Turkish counterpart on Thursday on how to move forward with joint patrols. 

“Right now we're focused on making the security mechanism functional in northern -- northeast Syria … this was the specific focus of our discussion, and I made very clear to him and he agreed as well that we need to make the security mechanism work," he said.

Additional reporting by Roj Eli Zalla in Washington and Associated Press 

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