Why US is Forced to Maintain Good Ties With Turkey Amid Tension Over Kurds
02.06.2016 04:21
Why US is Forced to Maintain Good Ties With Turkey Amid Tension Over Kurds
Director of the Center for Study of Turkey at the Washington Institute Soner Çağaptay spoke to Sputnik about how the United States cannot lose Turkey as an ally in the fight against Daesh.
“Turkish-American relations in Syria are based on the approach that both sides prefer to look at the problems of bilateral relations in isolation from each other. Speaking about the policy toward Syrian Kurds in fighting against Daesh, the following picture emerges: Ankara is not against cooperation between Washington and the Party of Democratic Union to the east of the Euphrates River,” Çağaptay said.
“The operation to free Raqqa is of great importance from the point of view that it is carried out in the territories east of the Euphrates. Therefore, Turkey will continue to provide logistical support for the operation.”
The analyst said that Turkey is not against cooperation between America and Syrian Kurds in Raqqa. The United States, in turn, does not respond to shelling by Turkish armed forces near the Turkish border. Overall, cooperation between the US and the PDC shows that their relations are not strategic but rather tactical.
“Turkey does not have air superiority in the region. After the incident with the downed Russian plane, Turkey has lost its former position, and America is still waiting to no avail, that the opposition, supported by Ankara, will take over these territories from Daesh,” the analyst said.
He explained that Turkey and the United States have entered into an agreement on the issue thrice, but each time it did not bring the expected results. If this time the situation repeats itself it may lead to the US wanting these territories to come under PDS control.
“It is from this area that Daesh carries out attacks on Turkey and Europe. To stop the flow of jihadists coming across the border, it is necessary to close this buffer zone,” Çağaptay said.
The analyst spoke about Turkey’s position on the Syrian conflict saying that Ankara has not realized that the conflict has escalated so much since 2011.
“Ankara continues to believe that by its actions it supports the democratic movement. Therefore, Turkey's Syrian policy is necessary to adjust as soon as possible to the realities of 2016; otherwise the country is in for more serious problems and shocks.”
Regarding Turkey’s relations with the US the analyst said that meanwhile in its fight against Daesh, the US is experiencing the need for Turkey, as a NATO member.
“The US government is forced to maintain good relations in the framework of cooperation with Ankara. The United States is using the same approach to isolate problems, which I mentioned at the beginning. Politically, America has serious concerns about the events taking place in Turkey. But it does not want to lose Turkey as an ally in its fight against Daesh,” Çağaptay said.
Earlier this week, media outlets have distributed photos taken in Syria near Daesh-occupied city of Raqqa, which depicted at least one of the US soldiers wearing YPG batch. The move sparked new wave of tensions between the US and the Turkish leadership.
Turkey claims the YPG is an ally of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK), a separatist movement fighting for Kurdish self-determination in the southeast of the country.
