Tillerson 48 hours in Ankara brings agreement on Turkish-US “joint mechanism”

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Turkey has announced an “understanding to normalize ties” with the US, as it presses Washington to detach itself from a Syrian Kurdish militia, or at least force the YPG to withdraw from Syria.

Acknowledging “a bit of a crisis point in the relationship”, Secretary of State Rex Tillerson spokes with Turkish officials in Ankara, including discussions with President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu, during a two-day visit.

On the eve of the talks, Turkish Defense Minister Nurettin Canikli demanded the expulsion of the YPG from Syria, “We want them to end all the support given to the Syrian arm of [the Turkish Kurdish insurgency] PKK, the YPG.”

The YPG is the leading element of the Syrian Democratic Forces, created by the US in autumn 2015 to push back the Islamic State in northern Syria. Ankara considers the militia to be part of the insurgency that has fought Turkish security forces for more than 30 years.

On Thursday, Turkish officials said Erdoğan had “clearly” told Tillerson in a three-hour encounter about Turkey’s priorities and expectations from the US.

But on Friday, Çavuşoğlu was more conciliatory at a joint press conference, saying the two sides have agreed to “establish mechanisms” to solve disagreements.

A Turkish official said Ankara has proposed that Turkish and US forces could deploy jointly in Manbij, the city in eastern Aleppo Province captured by the SDF from ISIS in summer 2016.

As Turkey and Syrian rebels have pursued an offensive against the YPG in the Kurdish canton of Afrin in northwest Syria, Erdoğan has also threatened an attack on Manbij, 100 km (60 miles) to the east.

Neither Çavuşoğlu nor Tillerson spoke directly of a Manbij proposal but the Foreign Minister said Turkey could take joint steps with the US in Syria once the YPG left Manbij and the surrounding area:

What is important is who will govern and provide security to these areas. We will coordinate to restore stability in Manbij and other cities. We will start with Manbij. After YPG leaves there, we can take steps with the US based on trust.

The Secretary of State pronounced:

We’re going to act together from this point forward. We’re going to lock arms. We’re going to work through the issues that are causing difficulties for us and we’re going to resolve them.

The United States made commitments to Turkey previously, we’ve not completed fulfilling those commitments. Through the working group, we’re going to address that and Manbij is going to receive priority.

When the SDF took Manbij in 2016, some US officials said the Kurdish-led force would eventually pull back east of the Euphrates River, but others were noncommittal. Turkey has always maintained that the Euphrates is a “red line” for Kurdish autonomy in northeast Syria.

Çavuşoğlu said the “mechanism” for further talks would meet again by mid-March.

Regarding the Turkish-rebel offensive on Afrin, Tillerson said he recognized Turkey’s legitimate right to defend its borders, but called on Ankara to show restraint and avoid actions that would escalate tensions.

US officials said Tillerson warned Erdoğan on Thursday that “Operation Olive Branch” is a distraction from the fight against ISIS.

“It’s not just Manbij. We have to think about all of northern Syria,” the Secretary of State said at the press conference.

Lavrov: US Ignoring Turkish Position on Kurds

In a show of support for Ankara, Russian Foreign MInister Sergey Lavrov said on Friday that the US is “ignoring” the Turks over the Kurdish issue.

Lavrov said in an interview with Euronews TV:

Turkey has repeatedly said it would do its utmost to prevent the Kurds from taking control of the border between Syria and Turkey. Despite that, the Americans have been arming, I would say, heavily arming, Kurdish units totally ignoring Turkey’s position. From the very beginning of their activities in Syria, the Americans have been staking on Kurds and turning a deaf ear to Turkey’s protests.

Lavrov chided the US over reports — quickly pulled back by Tillerson —that Washington was planning a 30,000-strong border force, half to come from the SDF. He implicitly blamed this for the Turkish-rebel offensive on Afrin: “Washington was simply turning a deaf ear to Ankara’s repeated warnings.”

Continuing Russia’s pressure for an American withdrawal from Syria, he said, “Obviously, the United States has some strategy, which, I think, is geared to keep its military presence in Syria forever. They are seeking to do the same in Iraq and in Afghanistan, despite all the previous promises.”

Families Speak Out About Russian Fighters Killed by US Airstrikes

Defying official denials, relatives are speaking out about Russian fighters killed on February 8 by US airstrikes in eastern Syria, as pro-Assad forces carried out a failed attack against the US-backed, Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces.

Reports — based on testimony from colleagues, doctors, and families — say Russian private military companiy Wagner Group suffered up to 300 casualties, with 200 killed, in the assault that tried to take the area around a Conoco gas plant.

See Syria Daily, Feb 16: Reports — 300 Russian Fighters Killed/Wounded by US Airstrikes

The ex-wife of Igor Kosotorov, a grocery store owner from Arbest in the Urals, said:

“Igor was a former army sniper. He went to Syria because he was a patriot. He believed that if we don’t stop Islamic State in Syria, then they will come to us, to Russia. He told me that if he didn’t go, then the authorities would just send young kids, with almost no military experience.

Nadezhda Kosotorova said Russian authorities had not contacted her: “This is a political game that I don’t understand,” she said.

“They just threw them into battle like pigs,” said Yelena Matveyeva, the widow of Stanislav Matveyev, one of nine men from Asbest who are fighting with Wagner. “Wherever they sent them, they had no protection.”

The Kremlin continued to stonewall on Friday. spokesman Dmitry Peskov said, “We have no new information. We have already said all we can say on the matter.”

The Foreign Ministry initially denied any Russian involvement in the February 8 battle but finally admitted to the possible deaths of five “Russian citizens” after some of those slain were identified by Russian analysts from reports on social media.

Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova maintained on Thursday that higher casualty tools were “fake news” spread by the Russian opposition.