US talks tough with Turkey on Syrian Kurds
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US President Donald Trump鈥檚 national security adviser said yesterday that the American military withdrawal from northeastern Syria is conditional on defeating the remnants of the Islamic State group and on Turkey assuring the safety of US-allied Kurdish fighters.
John Bolton said there is no timetable for the pullout, but insisted the military presence is not an unlimited commitment.
鈥淭here are objectives that we want to accomplish that condition the withdrawal,鈥 Bolton told reporters in Jerusalem before heading to Turkey today, where he will be joined by the chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff General Joseph Dunford. 鈥淭he timetable flows from the policy decisions that we need to implement.鈥
Those conditions, he said, included defeating what鈥檚 left of IS in Syria and protecting Kurdish militias who have fought alongside US troops against the extremist group.
Bolton鈥檚 comments were the first public confirmation that the drawdown has been slowed. Trump had faced widespread criticism from allies about his decision, announced in mid-December, that he was pulling all 2,000 US troops from Syria. Officials said at the time that although many details of the withdrawal had not yet been finalized, they expected American forces to be out by mid-January.
Trump鈥檚 move, which led to the resignation of US Defense Secretary Jim Mattis, has raised fears over clearing the way for a Turkish assault on the Kurdish fighters.
Turkey considers the Syrian Kurdish People鈥檚 Protection Units, or YPG, a terrorist group linked to an insurgency within its own borders.
Bolton said the US insists its Kurdish allies in Syria are protected from any planned Turkish offensive, a warning he was expected to deliver to Turkey鈥檚 president, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, this week.
鈥淲e don鈥檛 think the Turks ought to undertake military action that鈥檚 not fully coordinated with and agreed to by the United States,鈥 Bolton said. He said that in upcoming meetings with Turkish officials he will seek 鈥渢o find out what their objectives and capabilities are and that remains uncertain.鈥
Trump has made clear that he would not allow Turkey to kill the Kurds, Bolton said. 鈥淭hat鈥檚 what the president said, the ones that fought with us.鈥
Bolton said the US has asked the Kurds to 鈥渟tand fast now鈥 and refrain from seeking protection from Russia or Syrian President Bashar al-Assad鈥檚 government. 鈥淚 think they know who their friends are,鈥 he added, speaking of the Kurds.
Jim Jeffrey, the special representative for Syrian engagement and the newly named American special envoy for the anti-Islamic State coalition, will travel to Syria this week in an effort to reassure the Kurdish fighters that they are not being abandoned.
Turkey鈥檚 presidential spokesman called allegations his country planned to attack the US-allied Kurds in Syria 鈥渋rrational鈥 and said Turkey was fighting terrorism for national security.
The official Anadolu news agency quoted spokesman Ibrahim Kalin saying Kurdish fighters oppressed Syrian Kurds and pursued a separatist agenda under the guise of fighting IS.
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