Turkey’s S-400 Deal: The Last Straw that Breaks the Camel’s Back in US-Turkey Relations?
is providing weapons, training, and active surveillance for the PKK’s Syrian branch, the PYD.
US Policy Towards Syria: A Tangled Mess of Bilateral Negotiations
wants to establish a mechanism to ensure that the PYD-YPG is protected by a small international protection force by creating other safe areas where the PYD can survive.
Anti-Refugee Sentiment Ahead of Turkey’s Local Elections
in regards to the territory held by the YPG-PYD in the west of the Euphrates, as well as the presence of the terrorist organization in the regions east of the Euphrates.
Hunger Strikes for the PKK’s Imprisoned Leader Ocalan
They called for resistance in Turkey to support the Kobani battle between the PYD and Daesh in Syria.
Turkey Charts an Independent Foreign Policy
Turkey’s assumption of control over the rest of its border with Syria is not only extremely logical, it is a vital aspect of finally eliminating the PKK/PYD’s ability to operate from Syria soil.
What was Offered to Ankara in Moscow?
The most important part of the plan for Russia was to facilitate an agreement between the Syrian regime and the PYD to take over the YPG-led areas and to hand them over to the regime by restructuring the YPG element as an integral part of the Syrian military.
Turkey’s Options for a Safe Zone in Syria
It is clear that a full Turkish military control over the entire YPG-held areas will ruin what the PYD and YPG have accomplished so far.
How Cheap Drones Became Assets for Terrorist Organizations
However, in due course, the PKK/PYD has continued to enhance its abilities in drone use and completed its adaptation to using drones.
Turkey’s Fight Against Terrorism: PKK, not Kurds
, Turkey is preparing for a strike against the PKK’s Syria branch, known as the PYD/YPG.
Pompeo’s Long Tour: How Incoherence Creates Challenges for the US in the Middle East
While being hesitant to take steps against the Assad regime, Washington has alienated Turkey by supporting PYD, the terrorist organization that operates mainly in Northern Syria.
Turkey Can Help the US Exit from Syria
From a strategic perspective, while Turkey wants to reduce the YPG presence wherever it is located, the US, including Trump’s himself, seems to protect YPG against Turkey’s upcoming military operation and to assure the long-term presence of PYD/YPG’s in Syria.
Erdogan in the NYT: Turkey is the only Viable Partner for the US
Turkey has been into a very extensive rebuilding program in places that it saved from Daesh and the PYD/PKK.
Turkey’s Counter-Terrorism Efforts in 2018
While Deash was cleaned off from Turkey’s border with the Euphrates Shield operation in 2016, the PYD pocket in Afrin was also cleaned this past year (a deeper evaluation of the Afrin operation and its aftermath can be found here and here).
How will the Legacy of 2018 shape Politics in the Middle East in 2019?
As a first step, the Trump administration reconsidered his country’s ill-mannered support for the terrorist organization PYD in Northern Syria.
Syria After the US Withdrawal
For so long, the circle around Trump tried hard to persuade him that the PYD is the only partner that they can work with on the ground.
Turkey, Russia and Iran agreed on the establishment of a constitutional commission in Syria
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On the other hand, according to Sputnik News, spokesman for the Iranian Foreign Ministry - Bahram Qasimi - told Tasmin news agency that if the military operation, which Turkey wants to initiate towards the YPG/PYD in north of Syria, starts without the consent of the Syrian regime, the application of the agreements that have been agreed upon in Astana process will be difficult.
Enough is Enough in Eastern Syria
The operation will target the PYD - the PKK’s offshoot in Syria.
What is Turkey’s Military Agenda in Northern Syria?
The details such as time, particular target place and duration of the military operation are not precise yet, but Turkey’s strategic objective is clear: to de-territorialize the YPG/PYD alongside its Syrian border, fix relations with the U.
Can the US have its Cake and Eat it too in Syria?
He is reassuring Turkey that the PYD and YPG members are leaving Manbij and that they will not participate in local councils and the police force, as Turkish policymakers have demanded.
Does the US Bounty on PKK Leaders Mean Anything?
Further, Turkey is still expecting the promises to be kept in its entirety, such as the removal of the PYD units from the city of Manbij.
