Turkey told the head of the US military, Joseph Dunford, during his visit this weekend, that Ankara’s priority in Syria is to drive the Kurdish YPG militia from the town of Manbij – even though the militia is part of a US-backed force meant to retake the city of Raqqa from the Islamic State. Speaking to reporters after a cabinet meeting, Deputy Prime Minister Numan Kurtulmus stressed that using non-Arab elements to drive Islamic State out of its Syrian stronghold of Raqqa would not contribute to peace in the region.
“We have openly conveyed our resolve on Manbij to U.S. Chief of General Staff who paid a visit to our country. We have expressed it is very important that PYD (Democratic Union Party) immediately evacuates Manbij completely fulfilling the pledges that were initially made. During the talks, it was stated that Turkey has completed its preparations for (an offensive) on Manbij and removing PYD militants from Manbij of our strategic priorities.” / “We say that every step taken by non-Arab elements as part of Raqqa operation will be against the interests of the United States. It will be against the peace in the region as well. This is a cul-de-sac. This is the wrong path,” said Kurtulmus.
Turkey regards People’s Protection Units, YPG, and it’s political wing PYD as extensions of the PKK, a Kurdish separatist group that has waged a three-decade insurgency to push for Kurdish autonomy in southeastern Turkey. The PKK is listed as a terrorist organization by the United States and European Union. Nevertheless, the YPG militia is backed by Western states in its battle against the Islamic State and other Jihadist organizations in Syria.