Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan with Donald Trump (File)
US officials, including Donald Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner, are in Turkey this week as the two sides hold tense discussions about a “safe zone” in Kurdish areas of northern Syria.
A US delegation arrived in Turkey on Monday to discuss the rival American and Turkish plans for a 32-km deep zone across the Kurdish cantons of Kobani and Cezire along the Syrian-Turkish border.
The other will accompany Kushner, who is expected to focus on his oft-cited but little-developed “peace plan” for Israel and Palestine in Wednesday discussions.
The US special representative for Syria, James Jeffrey, is expected to be in the negotiations after meeting Turkish officials in Munich last week.
The “safe zone” was prompted by Donald Trump’s impulsive decision, made during a phone call with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan on December 14, to withdraw all 2,000 US troops from Syria. Many of the personnel work with the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces, who have fought the Islamic State since autumn 2015 and reduced it to a small pocket on the Iraqi border. But coalition partners such as the UK and France say they will not keep their forces in Syria if the Americans depart.
Turkey considers the Kurdish militia YPG, the leading faction in the SDF, as part of the Turkish Kurdish insurgency PKK. Erdoğan’s “safe zone” demands the withdrawal of all YPG fighters, and called on the US to retrieve weapons given to the group.
US officials have never defined their zone, which would be enforced by US warplanes and personnel redeployed in western Iraq as a reaction force. Meanwhile, the Pentagon and high-level advisors have pulled back Trump’s withdrawal order, extending the timeline to four to six months and now ensuring that at least 400 troops — half with the SDF — remain in Syria.
TrumpWatch, Day 763: Military Push Back Trump — 400 US Troops to Stay in Syria
Erdoğan said on Tuesday that he does not believe the US will take back weapons from the YPG: “The [American] generals…said that they have the serial numbers, and they will collect the weapons when all is done. I do not find this sincere.
He warned, “If this withdrawal becomes a stalling method, our approach will be different.”
The Turkish President claimed that coalition partners will now keep 500 personnel in northern Syria, alongside 200 to 400 US troops.
Egypt hits back at Erdoğan over comments on Sisi, democracy
Egypt’s foreign ministry on Wednesday responded to comments by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan on Egypt and its leadership, saying they were “clearly filled with malice,” Euronews Turkish reported.
“The Turkish president’s statements also implied his continued support and loyalty for the terrorist Muslim Brotherhood group,” Foreign Ministry Spokesman Ahmed Hafez said in a statement.
https://ahvalnews.com/egypt-turkey/egypt-hits-back-erdogan-over-comments-sisi-democracy 2/27/2019
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SDC: Egypt could mediate to stop Turkish attack on east of Euphrates
A Syrian Democratic Council (SDC) official says he hopes Egypt can help mediate between the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) and Damascus to stop a Turkish attack on the east of the Euphrates.
According to Amjad Othman, the SDC’s official spokesperson, “there are good connections between the SDF and the Egyptian government.”
“We hope the Egyptian government can help prevent a conflict between the Syrian government and the SDF and help find a political solution for Syria to prevent a Turkish attack on the east of the Euphrates,” Othman told Kurdistan 24.
http://www.kurdistan24.net/en/news/d82c809d-9f62-410a-8845-07c6203ec7aa 12/27/2018
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Riad Darar, the joint chairman of the Syria Democratic Council:: the Egyptian role is essential in the area and we can agree on its presence in the east of the Euphrates in the shadow of the Turkish threat
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights directed questions to representatives of the command of the Syria Democratic Council about the bilateral relations between the council and the Egyptian side, in the shadow of the Turkish threat of carrying out a military operation in the area of the east of the Euphrates, and establishing a safe zone which enables Turkey to achieve the vision it aims to, where Riad Darar, the joint chairman of the Syria Democratic Council, answered these questions directed to the Council ((SDC)), about the Syria Democratic Council’s view about the Egyptian role in the recent developments about the situation of the east of the Euphrates and the Turkish threats, and the nature of the Council’s thoughts about the ability of the Egyptian interference as a counter party to the case of the “safe zone”, to prevent the Turkish intervention, and the arrangements taken by the democratic self-management and the Syria Democratic Council to visit Egypt and establish stable relations to push the Egyptian authorities to be involved in the developments of the case of east Euphrates
http://www.syriahr.com/en/?p=116756 2/17/2019