Turkish President Tayyip Erdoğan received US Secretary of State Antony Blinken in Ankara late yesterday in a meeting focused on the situation in Syria after the end of Bashar Al-Assad’s regime, in which the Turkish president made it clear that Turkey will continue to protect its interests and national security by preventing terrorist groups such as Daesh or the PKK/YPG – the latter supported by Washington – from taking advantage of the situation to expand their dominance in the region.
According to Turkish media reports, the meeting held at Ankara’s Esenboğa International Airport was attended by Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan, Chief Presidential Advisor Akif Çağatay Kılıç and Chief Presidential Communications Officer Fahrettin Altun, in addition to Erdoğan and Blinken. At the meeting, the representatives of the two governments re-emphasised their common position that the new Syria that has emerged after the fall of Assad must have an inclusive and democratic government, with Erdoğan stressing the importance of the international community helping to rebuild Syrian institutions.
The Turkish president also wanted to make it clear to the US that Turkey will continue to take preventive measures for its own national security against terrorist organisations operating in Syria, including the YPG (the Syrian affiliate of the PKK terrorist group), despite the fact that this armed group – part of the SDF – is supported by the US, which for years has considered it its main ally in the fight against Daesh in the region. Precisely, Erdoğan assured that his country will continue to fight to prevent the expansion of Daesh (ISIS), reminding Blinken at the meeting that Turkey is the only NATO country whose soldiers have fought hand-to-hand with ISIS.
Following his meeting with Erdoğan – which coincided with a visit to Damascus by Turkey’s intelligence chief Ibrahim Kalın, accompanied by Qatar’s top national security official Khalfan al-Kaabi – Blinken met with Minister Fidan today, Friday, again with Syria at the top of the agenda of the meeting between both US and Turkish foreign representatives.
Washington and Ankara have a tense relationship over the former’s support for the SDF/YPG in Syria, where in recent days there have been large protests in cities such as Raqqah and Hasakah demanding the withdrawal of the SDF and that the new Syrian administration take control. At least 4 civilians have been killed during these protests after armed members of the YPG fired on the demonstrators.
VOTE
EDITORIAL TEAM
🧿 About us
.
Edited and reviewed by:
Pablo Gómez is a specialist in Turkey and has been editor-in-chief of Hispanatolia since 2011. He has been analysing current affairs and geopolitics in Turkey and the surrounding region since 2006.
…
📣 Your ADVERTISING on Hispanatolia
.
🤗 HELP US WITH A DONATION:
💗 Paypal
