U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said that Washington is working to address Türkiye’s concerns in Syria, aiming to prevent the NATO ally from launching a military operation against the YPG, the PKK’s Syrian offshoot.
Blinken said that Türkiye had “legitimate concerns” about the PKK inside Syria and, following the overthrow of longtime ruler Bashar Assad, called for a resolution in the country that includes the departure of “foreign terrorist fighters.”
His comments came just a day after Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan said Türkiye would launch an operation against the PKK/YPG if it fails to disband and leave Syria.
“That’s a process that’s going to take some time, and in the meantime, what is profoundly not in the interest of everything positive we see happening in Syria would be a conflict, and we’ll work very hard to make sure that that doesn’t happen,” Blinken told reporters in Paris.
Blinken said he expected the incoming administration of Donald Trump also to show a “very strong interest” in ensuring that the Daesh terrorist group does not “rear its ugly head again.”
Ankara has long been bothered by the U.S. support of the PKK/YPG in Syria, considering the PKK is proscribed as a terrorist group by the European Union, the U.S. and Türkiye.
The terrorist group is responsible for more than 40,000 deaths in Türkiye, including women and children.
The PKK/YPG has occupied swathes of northern Syria, including oil-rich areas, since 2015, with the help of the U.S. Washington calls the group its main ally in the fight against Daesh, much to Ankara’s chagrin.
Türkiye says the YPG/PKK is on par with Daesh and should have no presence in the new Syria.
While it has fought the PKK in northern Iraq for over 20 years, Ankara has mounted multiple operations against the YPG in Syria since 2016.