As the Turkish president’s office announced, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan spoke with US President Donald Trump about such a „terrorist-free“ zone. According to the White House, Trump Erdoğan again warned against cracking down on the Kurds in Syria.
US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said the US is talking to various sides about such a zone that is supposed to protect both Turkey and the Kurds. „We want to make sure that the people who fought down there with us have security (…) and that the terrorists active in Syria can not attack Turkey,“ Pompeo said during a visit to Saudi Arabia. „We want a secure border for all parties,“ he said.
Trump had on Sunday the establishment of a 30-kilometer-wide security corridor in northern Syria in conversation. He did not give details of his situation. He also threatened to „economically destroy“ Turkey if it attacked Kurdish militia YPG.
Dealing with the Kurdish people’s defense units in northern Syria has been causing fierce fighting between the USA and Turkey for years. Ankara sees the Syrian Kurdish militia as a threat as it is closely linked to the Kurdistan Workers‘ Party (PKK), which has been fighting the Turkish state for decades. The US, however, supports the Kurdish People’s Defense Units (YPG) with weapons and air strikes in the fight against the terrorist militia „Islamic State“ (IS) in Syria.
Turkey has already made several military attacks against the YPG in northern Syria. Most recently in early 2018, when she occupied the previously Kurd-administered region of Afrin in Operation Olivenzweig. Since mid-December, President Erdoğan is constantly threatened with a new offensive. Shortly before Christmas, Trump announced then surprisingly to withdraw all US troops from Syria, as the IS was defeated according to him. This caused a lot of criticism – both from home and abroad. Meanwhile Trump relativized his opinion again.
