Turkey at odds with US and Germany over Syrian conflict
TURKEY is at loggerheads with its Nato allies in the US and Germany over its military operation against Kurdish militants in Syria.
During a phone call yesterday, Donald Trump, the US President, is said to have urged Recep Tayyip Erdogan, his Turkish counterpart, to rein in its military. Turkey says Mr Erdogan warned the US to “stop supporting terrorists”.
The telephone call came four days into Turkey’s Operation Olive Branch, a campaign to crush the Us-backed Kurdish militia just over its southern border, in Syria’s Afrin province.
The conflict has also prompted Germany to harden its stance against Turkey and threaten to suspend weapons deals.
The Kurdish People’s Protection Units (YPG) is the US’S top proxy in Syria, but Turkey sees it as an offshoot of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK), which it deems a terrorist group and has vowed to destroy.
According to the White House, during the call Mr Trump “urged Turkey to de-escalate, limit its military actions, and avoid civilian casualties and increases to displaced persons and refugees”.
“He urged Turkey to exercise caution and to avoid any actions that might risk conflict between Turkish and American forces,” read the call readout.
But according to Turkish officials, no such rebuke was given.
Turkish officials said yesterday that Mr Trump did not voice “concerns [about escalating violence]” over Turkey’s cross-border operation against the Kurdish enclave of Afrin in northern Syria.
They also said Mr Trump had assured Turkey that the US would cease supplying the Syrian Kurdish militia with weapons. This would seem at odds with the recently announced border force plan, and with the situation on the ground.
Binali Yildirim, the Turkish prime minister, yesterday said was it “astounding and unacceptable” that the US would support the group.
Sigmar Gabriel, German foreign minister, voiced “great concern” about Turkey’s cross-border military incursion, and said Berlin would put on ice any weapons deals.