Tabnak – The process of finding a political solution to end the six-year conflict in Syria has been accelerated after the leaders of Iran, Russia and Turkey agreed on the bases of the process in Sochi. Now, in another development, it seems that the US has started to adapt its Syrian policy with the new developments.
According to Reuters, US President Donald Trump informed Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in a call on Friday that Washington is adjusting military support to partners on the ground in Syria, the White House said on Friday. Turkey’s presidency had previously reported that the United States would not supply weapons to Kurdish YPG fighters in Syria.
The Turkish presidency also said that Washington had agreed to fight “terrorist organizations” with Ankara, including ISIS terrorist group, the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) and the US-based Muslim cleric Fetullah Gulen network.
Turkey considers the Kurdish Syrian fighters, the People’s Protection Units known by the initials YPG, to be terrorists because of their affiliation to outlawed Kurdish rebels that have waged a three decade long insurgency in Turkey. The YPG is a key US ally in the coalition fighting against ISIS in Syria.
‘‘Mr. Trump clearly stated that he had given clear instructions and that the YPG won’t be given arms, and that this nonsense should have ended a long time ago,’’ Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said in Ankara.
However, US Officials at the Defense and State departments, who would normally be informed of changes in US policy toward arming the Syrian Kurds, said they were unaware of any changes. The officials spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity.
In an analysis of the recent event however Russia Today writes that Syrian Kurdish militias will feel betrayed and will likely align closer with Damascus, if Donald Trump indeed delivers on his promise to Recep Tayyip Erdogan and “adjusts” US military support for the so-called Syrian Democratic Forces.
“What may happen is that they may recognize and start working more closely with the Syrian government. Of course, they have never been fighting against the Syrian government forces. And I think what may happen here is that YPG will align and make it very clear that they are not seeking a federation or anything like that but they will be part of a future Syria,” investigative journalist, Rick Sterling told RT.
Trump’s intention to backtrack on his support for the Kurds, experts believe, is part of an attempt to “adjust” failing US policy on Syria, following a number of recent diplomatic markers, achieved with Iran and Russia’s direct and dynamic input.
Earlier this week, Russian President Vladimir Putin hosted Syrian leader Bashar Assad in Sochi. He later convened a summit on the future of Syria with the leaders of Iran and Turkey, where all parties endorsed an initiative to convene an all-Syrian national dialogue.
It should be noted that the Syrian government has both fought with and alongside Syrian Kurds at times throughout the conflict but considered their formal alliance with the US a betrayal. Assad’s administration has declared both the US and Turkey “illegal invaders” because they oppose Assad’s rule and did not coordinate their intervention into the country with Damascus as Russia and Iran did.
