US warns Ankara against unilateral military action in Syria

The Pentagon said unilateral military action in north-east Syria by any party would be unacceptable.

The warning came after Turkey said it would launch a new military operation in the region within days to target Kurdish militia fighters.

Ankara and Washington have long been at odds over Syria, where the United States backs the YPG Kurdish militia in the fight against ISIS militants.

Turkey says the YPG is a terrorist organisation and an extension of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), which has waged an insurgency in southeast Turkey for 34 years.

Within hours of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s announcement on Wednesday of a planned operation, the US defence department said such action would undermine the shared interest of securing the border between Syria and Turkey in a sustainable way.

“Unilateral military action into north-east Syria by any party, particularly as US personnel may be present or in the vicinity, is of grave concern,” Pentagon spokesman Sean Robertson said. “We would find any such actions unacceptable.”

Turkey has conducted military campaigns in the past two years to sweep YPG fighters from territory west of the Euphrates, but has not gone east of the river – partly to avoid direct confrontation with US forces.

But Mr Erdogan’s patience with Washington over Syria – specifically a deal to clear the YPG from the town of Manbij, west of the Euphrates – seems to have worn thin.

“We will start the operation to clear the east of the Euphrates from separatist terrorists in a few days.

“Our target is never US soldiers,” he said at a defence-industry summit in Ankara.

Turkey has repeatedly voiced frustration about the speed of implementation of the Manbij deal, saying last month the agreement should be carried out by the end of this year.

The Pentagon said co-ordination and consultation between the US and Turkey was the only way to address security concerns and that Washington wants to work closely with Ankara.

“We believe this dialogue is the only way to secure the border area in a sustainable manner, and believe that unco-ordinated military operations will undermine that shared interest,” Mr Robertson said.

He said that while the US was fully committed to Turkey’s border security, it remained committed to working with the Syrian Democratic Forces, which includes Kurdish YPG fighters, to defeat ISIS.

Turkish and US troops began joint patrols near Manbij last month, but that co-operation has been complicated by Turkey shelling Kurdish fighters to the east of the Euphrates.

This year, the SDF temporarily suspended an offensive against ISIS after Turkish shelling in northern Syria.

The Pentagon says it has about 2,000 troops in Syria.

Last month, the US said it would set up observation posts on the border between Kurdishheld northern Syria and Turkey after Turkish cross-border shelling killed four Kurdish fighters.

Three observation posts have now been set up, a US official said on Wednesday.

The official said the positions were clearly marked and any force attacking them “would definitely know they are attacking” the US.

Mr Erdogan said Turkey was the victim of a “stalling tactic” over Manbij and that ISIS no longer posed a threat in Syria.

We will start the operation to clear the east of the Euphrates from separatist terrorists in a few days RECEP TAYYIP ERDOGAN Turkish president