Jeffrey: Turkey is more determined than ever about launching its military operation in Syria

The Former US envoy to Syria James Jeffrey said in an article published on Foreign Policy website on Saturday that Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan seems more serious than ever about launching a military operation against the Syrian Democratic Forces in northeastern Syria.

Jeffrey added that the Turkish president has not yet taken a final decision to launch a ground operation, but the threats have once again raised tensions in the bilateral relationship with Washington, pointing out that Turkey will certainly launch some form of ground military operations.

Jeffrey pointed out that the United States has conflicting interests with Turkey, and the interests of the two countries coincide in dozens of issues, and despite many adversities, Washington is Ankara’s most vital ally, and Turkey is a major partner of the United States in Eurasia.

Jeffrey stated, however, the disagreements over Washington’s support for the Syrian Democratic Forces have repeatedly disturbed relations since 2016.

Jeffrey pointed out that Turkey, which has now returned to the battle against the Syrian Democratic Forces, saw that this is understandable as a potential threat and showed more than ever a position against the policy of the United States.

Jeffrey explained that the direct cause of the current crisis is the Istanbul bombing, killing nine people, which Ankara attributes to the Syrian Democratic Forces operating out of Syria.

He noted that Turkey’s demands are immediate, which is the withdrawal of the Syrian Democratic Forces from the border areas, it also wants commitments against any attacks by the Syrian Democratic Forces from Syria on Turkish territory, stressing the need for Washington to revitalize these commitments in some way.

Jeffrey concluded his article by saying: “Similar initiatives with Turkey on these issues have had mixed results, to be sure, but the stakes are high enough to justify talking to both the Turks and the SDF at a very senior level. But even if Washington succeeds in postponing a Turkish attack, it owes Ankara—and its own citizens, whose soldiers are often under fire in Syria—an answer to the question “How does this all end?” for Syria as a whole.”