PM says received strong signals from US over changing Syria policy
Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu (R) talked to Turkish journalists after a meeting with US President Barack Obama on Saturday. (Photo: DHA)
Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu said over the weekend that he has received strong signals from the US over its changing Syria policy, adding that Turkey and the US share more joint parameters on following an integrated strategy for both Iraq and Syria.
Addressing a group of journalists following his meeting with US President Barack Obama on Nov. 15 on the sidelines of the G-20 Leaders' Summit, Davutoğlu said there is a need for an integrated strategy so that Turkey could take on responsibility in fighting against the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL).
Davutoğlu stressed that Turkey and the US have a joint perspective over the future of Syria, saying that US officials have been saying that both President Bashar al-Assad and ISIL should go.
He said it takes time for the US strategy to change. “There may be different views [on fighting against ISIL] within the US government, but the important one is the one that the president tends to follow,” Davutoğlu added.
According to the prime minister, both countries have different concerns and risks with regard to the Syrian crisis.
Turkey has prioritized the removal of Assad's regime rather than focusing on the immediate threat of ISIL. Turkish officials view the Assad regime as the main factor in the creation of an environment that has enabled the emergence of radical groups such as ISIL.
The US and other Western countries have made it clear that removing Assad's regime from power in Syria is not a priority.
Despite the fact that both Turkish and US officials have publicly denied any strain in Turkish-US relations, the differences over their Syria policies and how to deal with the threat of ISIL have brought the “strategic nature” of this relationship into question.
The US military announced that it had air-dropped weapons and other supplies provided by the Iraqi Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) on Oct. 20, just a day after the publication of remarks from Erdoğan that he opposed any arms transfer by the US to the Democratic Union Party (PYD), the Syrian branch of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK).
The PKK is classified as a terrorist organization by the US, Turkey and the European Union.
“The US said Kobani may fall and that they will provide arms supplies. We told them that they were doing wrong and warned that the arms might be seized by ISIL, but they wouldn't listen,” Erdoğan said last week.
However, in a major policy shift, Turkey announced in October that it would allow peshmerga to cross into Kobani via Turkey. The Financial Times called the event “Turkey's U-turn.”
In the meantime, expressing concern over the intensified campaign against rebels in Aleppo, Davutoğlu said last week that Turkey may face a new refugee wave if the city falls into the hands of Assad's regime.
In remarks to the press following a meeting held at the General Staff on Tuesday, Davutoğlu said Assad has benefited from the US-led coalition's focus on Kobani and has committed massacres in and around Aleppo.
“If Aleppo falls, Turkey may face a major refugee influx that seriously concerns us. This is why we called for [the establishment of a] safe zone as well as taking measures against not only ISIL but also the Assad regime,” he said.
Turkey has been pushing the international coalition to set up a no-fly zone and a safe zone inside Syria as it already hosts 1.6 million Syrian refugees.
“Aleppo is under extreme pressure, but is not on the verge of falling yet,” Davutoğlu said and accused the coalition members, foreign media and international community of ignoring the crisis in Aleppo.
Davutoğlu called on the international community to show a clear approach against the Assad regime and said Turkey does not want that kind of refugee influx.
Unlike the approach of many Western countries, France has recently voiced concern over Aleppo and said the US-led coalition should focus more on Aleppo.
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