Turkey wary of US 'observation post' plan in northern Syria
Ankara is perturbed by the U.S. plan to set up observation points in northern Syria controlled by the PKK-affiliated People's Protection Units (YPG) due to concerns that it may lead to legitimizing the group's presence in the area.
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Washington needs an exit strategy for its YPG policy
The same day the congressional elections took place in the U.S., the State Department announced that it would offer rewards for information leading to the arrest of three major PKK figures, namely Murat Karayılan, Cemil Bayık and Duran Kalkan.
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President Erdoğan has called on Western powers to stop trying to negotiate new Sykes-Picot style agreements in the Middle East and North Africa, and urges them to support Turkey's fight against terrorism
For the time being, Washington and Ankara find themselves in a favorable position to hold talks and the two must now take constructive, concrete steps regarding potential flashpoints in the region
Ankara will never allow the YPG, or whatever the Americans intend to call it in the future, to represent Syrian Kurds at the negotiating table
President Erdoğan's visit to Paris for Armistice Day commemorations is expected to see a meeting with his U.S. counterpart Donald Trump, during which key issues, particularly FETÖ and the YPG, will be discussed
The 2018 midterm elections and their implications for Trump's presidency
After the 2018 midterm elections, the Democrats' focus will be more on domestic affairs, while Trump intends to pursue a more active foreign policy and use it as a political opportunity
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Turkey says US move on PKK overdue, calls for immediate action toward Syrian wing YPG
The U.S. has decided to put a bounty on the heads of top three PKK terrorists. The step has been seen in Ankara as a belated move and insufficient to restore trust in ties, as Washington continues to back the YPG – the PKK's Syrian offshoot
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Turkey has said it is resolutely committed to clearing the YPG terror threat from northeastern Syria and recently shelled YPG positions along its borders. Experts say Ankara will no longer wait around for the Manbij deal and will take any necessary steps to address the issue
The Khashoggi affair is a stark reminder for the White House of how important a partnership with Ankara is in order to be engaged with developments in the Middle East
A Turkish court released pastor Andrew Brunson from house arrest last week. His trial had brought Turkey-U.S. relations to a historical low. Over the last two years, the issue dominated the agenda of every meeting between the high-level officials of both countries.
Turkey is still the most significant regional actor enabling the U.S. to secure its credibility and reputation across the whole Middle East
The U.S. policy on Syria over the last seven years has been nothing short of an enigma...
President Trump's foreign policy approach and rhetoric suggest that the United States will stick to a particularly crude brand of unilateralism permanently.
The normalization of Turkey-EU relations is a development that inspires hope, even as global concerns such as migration, populism, the trade war, security threats and so on grow more intense
If Ankara and Berlin can overcome the challenges of recent years, a new strategic partnership could be in the making
Regime leader Assad wants to claim victory over Idlib to prove he has Syrian lands under his control, says analyst
However, the latest crisis in Syria can actually help revive relations, but only if the U.S. and Turkey can establish a meaningful conversation, effective channels for dialogue and the intention to work together toward common objectives.
Regional and global actors cannot reach common ground in order to end the Idlib crisis, signaling that the Syrian civil war will most probably get worse in the future
One of the most significant unknowns in Washington for the last seven years has been the Syrian policy. The inconsistency between rhetoric and policy, the absence of a strategy and indecisiveness were considered the pillars of the U.S. position
The foreign policy makers of the Trump administration are damaging the U.S.' prestige among its allies, leaving the country more isolated than ever
