Trump to arm Kurds, to anger Turks

TURKEY - In Brief 10 May 2017 by Atilla Yesilada
President Trump finally made the long-anticipated decision to arm the Syrian Kurdish militia named YPG currently battling alongside Arab forces to liberate Raqqa from DAESH. Turkey labels YPG and its political branch PYD as a terrorist outfit, because of their deep ties to Kurdish separatist PKK. The decision was announced while a large Turkish delegation was in Washington DC to convince their counterparts to work with the Turkish Military to liberate Raqqa, among other items of common interest, and at the eve Turkish President Erdogan’s visit on 16th of May. Experts argue and I agree that Trump’s decision is certain to infuriate Ankara, but I still retain hope that the White House will be sensible enough to send Erdogan home with a consolation prize. Yet, a break-down in relations and a subsequent turmoil in markets can’t be ruled out at this point. Trump can’t blamed for the rather impolite timing of the decision, because DAESH was slipping key personnel out of Raqqa, the weather is getting hotter and Kurds are threatening to return home (to the Turkish border) to defend their villages against a potential Turkish invasion. He also issued substantial assurances to relieve Turkish concerns. Arabs in the coalition battling DAESH will be given priority in the receipt of arms, these will be closely monitored lest they fall into the hands of PKK and PYD-YPG has been instructed to pull out of Raqqa as soon as order is established. None of this matters to Turkey for the right reasons. PYD officials already herald the birth of a Kurdish state in Syria encompassing Raqqa, YPG has not pulled out of any territory it had liberated thus far and I have seen strong evidence of at le...

Now read on...

Register to sample a report

Register
Sign-in
Forgot your password?
Copyright 2024 GlobalSource Partners. All rights reserved. This is prepared for GlobalSource Partners’ clients and may not be redistributed, reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, retransmitted or disclosed, in whole or in part, or in any form or manner, without the express written consent of GlobalSource Partners. This is distributed simultaneously to our website and other portals used by GlobalSource Partners. The information herein was obtained from various sources and is believed to be reliable but GlobalSource Partners does not warrant its completeness or accuracy. Neither GlobalSource Partners nor any Country Analyst, officer or employee accepts any liability whatsoever for any direct, indirect or consequential damages or losses rising from any use of this or its contents.