US and Türkiye agree on Syria settlement – Blinken

Washington’s secretary of state believes putting too much pressure on the Kurds could lead to a resurgence of Islamic State

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken has said Washington and Ankara have reached a general consensus on how to normalize the situation in Syria. The US diplomat, who is currently touring the Middle East, added that President Joe Biden’s administration would like the regional powers to develop a unified approach on the issue.

Armed opposition groups led by Hayat Tahrir-al-Sham (HTS) mounted a surprise offensive in Syria in late November, capturing several major cities, and seizing the capital, Damascus, last Saturday. Former President Bashar Assad and his family fled to Russia, where they were granted asylum.

While Türkiye supports some of the Syrian opposition factions that ousted Assad, it considers the Kurish-dominated militias to be terrorists, despite their long-time backing from the US.

Following his meeting with Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan on Friday, Blinken said there is “broad agreement, what we would each like to see going forward, starting with the interim government in Syria.”

He noted that the US and Türkiye have “worked very hard… to ensure the elimination of the territorial caliphate of ISIS,” and that “it’s imperative that we keep at those efforts.”

Late on Thursday, the US secretary of state held talks with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

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Speaking to reporters at King Hussein International Airport in Aqaba, Jordan earlier that day, Blinken acknowledged that “Türkiye has real and clear interests, particularly when it comes to the PKK and terrorism… which is an enduring threat to Türkiye.” He added, however, that external forces should be careful to “avoid sparking any kinds of additional conflicts inside of Syria.”

According to Blinken, the “so-called SDF, the Syrian Democratic Forces, that we’ve been supporting” has played a key role in preventing the resurgence of the terrorist group Islamic State in Syria.

In a post on X on Wednesday, SDF commander Mazloum Abdi announced that his group and the Turkish-backed Syrian National Army (SNA) had sealed a truce, following days of fighting for control for the northern city of Manbij. He added that the US had mediated the negotiations.

Formed in 2015, the SDF is a broad coalition of Kurdish and Arab militias, which has actively engaged in military operations against Islamic State militants in north-eastern Syria.

The group has also repeatedly found itself in armed confrontations with the Turkish military. Ankara believes the SDF is linked to the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), which it considers a terrorist organization.