ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - Turkey will not seek US approval and will act independently if Washington continues supporting Kurdish forces in northern Syria, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said Sunday amid threats to escalate Ankara’s fresh campaign in the region to a ground operation.
Turkey launched Operation Claw-Sword targeting positions of the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) in northern Syria on November 20. The aerial campaign, conducted as a prelude to a looming ground operation, has been strongly opposed by the US as it maintains a military presence in the region and is a key ally of the Kurdish forces.
As Ankara’s pressure campaign on Washington to greenlight its planned invasion of Syria intensifies, Erdogan said that Turkey will take matters into its own hands if the US continues providing “thousands of truck-loads” of military assistance and equipment to the Kurdish force, state-owned Anadolu Agency reported.
“Currently, we want to take a step with Syria and Russia, as a trio. For this, first, our intelligence organizations should come together, then our defense ministers and, then our foreign ministers should meet,” Erdogan added, expressing interest in conducting joint operations with the two countries against the SDF.
The Syrian government and its main backer, Russia, have both called for restraint and urged Turkey for de-escalation. However, Moscow has been distracted by its war in Ukraine, which has also provided Erdogan with the opportunity to emerge as a key global political actor with Russia increasingly reliant on Turkey as a window to the western world which it has largely been isolated by. This may guarantee Erdogan limited opposition from Russia with regard to its operation in Syria.
Kurds in Syria have been Washington’s main allies on the ground in the fight against the Islamic State (ISIS) since the terror group seized swathes of land in Syria and Iraq in 2014. The US has provided ammunition, training, and military support to the SDF since then.
Hundreds of US troops remain in Syria and lead the global coalition against ISIS, frequently conducting joint patrols with the SDF as part of a joint effort to rout ISIS remnants in the region.
Turkey’s ongoing rocket and drone attacks in northern Syria pose a danger to US personnel stationed on the ground.
In late November, the US Central Command (CENTCOM) said that a deadly Turkish drone strike against a joint Kurdish-American base that killed 2 SDF fighters put American forces in northern Syria in danger.
Turkey considers the People’s Protection Units (YPG) – the backbone of the SDF – as a front for the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) in Syria. The PKK is a Kurdish armed group fighting for the increased rights of Kurds in Turkey and is outlawed as a terrorist organization by Ankara, as well as the US and EU.
The Kurdish forces and Washington have repeatedly threatened that a Turkish ground offensive in the area would jeopardize hard-earned gains made in the years-long fight against ISIS.
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