Turkey-US cooperation key for the stabilization of Syria

coordinate these moves with Turkey. Recent attempts to persuade the U.S. administration to work with Turkey east of the Euphrates forgets that Turkey and the U.S. have been working together in the war against terror for more than 15 years now.

Even when Turkey was disappointed and frustrated with the U.S. insensitivity for Turkey’s national security concerns, Ankara never backtracked from these principles of working together against terror. It was Turkey that Daesh targeted in the midst of counter-Daesh operations in Syria to discourage Turkey to help the international coalition. Instead, Turkey launched massive offensives in Daesh-held territories. Turkey also was the first country to use its ground forces against Daesh in Syria.

Thus, Turkey has the most seasoned counterterrorism forces in its military and can handle security crises in the region with the help of local elements and with the coordination of the U.S. President Erdoğan, in his op-ed for The New York Times, reiterated establishing a stabilization force in Syria to fight against different terrorist groups. It is important for the U.S. to launch a process of coordination for the withdrawal process. As stated by both leaders, coordination is key for the success of these operations and the stabilization and later reconstruction of Syria.

Children gather outside their makeshift shelters following torrential rain that affected a camp for displaced people near the town of Atme, close to the Turkish border, in Syria’s mostly opposition-held northern Idlib province, Jan. 10.

Kılıç Buğra Kanat