Eric Edelman  :Turks have concerns along their borders. Syria is their neighbor.  I  2018
Channel: What is it ?
Date: 2022-02-17

Eric Edelman on Turkey, Russia, the U S , and Syria

Relations between the United States and Turkey have come under increasing strain in the past two years over the U.S. role in Syria and Ankara’s strengthening ties with Russia. American support for Kurdish forces battling ISIS has angered Turkey, which sees the cooperation as bolstering Kurdish nationalist elements inside its borders. At the same time, U.S. policy makers are uneasy with arms deals that Turkey, a NATO ally, has made with Russia, such as its $2 billion purchase of S-400 surface-to-air missile systems. Ankara’s moves to scale back collaboration with the U.S., such as restrictions on American use of the Incirlik Air Base, are also cause for concern. USIP Board member Eric Edelman, a former U.S. ambassador to Turkey during the George W. Bush administration, and USIP International Advisory Council member Jake Sullivan, who served as Vice President Joe Biden’s national security adviser, provide some insight on the state of Turkish-American relations.

With Ankara working closely with Russia and Iran on a political resolution to the Syrian civil war, what avenues remain for cooperation for Ankara and Washington in Syria?

Jake Sullivan: From my perspective, Turkey will continue to play footsie with Russia and Iran on a political outcome. They’ll want to have a process that is not owned by Washington, that they’re a central part of and that will continue. But they fundamentally diverge from both Russia and Iran on the core question of Assad’s future and on what they actually want to see as a political resolution to the Syrian crisis. And therefore, the United States will continue to have the capacity to shape Turkish thinking, to engage with Turkey and to come to a better common understanding of what the political shape of Syria looks like in a post-conflict or reduced-conflict situation. In order to get there though, we and Ankara need to get to a better place in terms of our understanding of the Syrian-Kurdish issue and that should be priority number one for us.

Although Turkey is a NATO member, it is increasing military cooperation with Moscow (such as a $2 billion deal to buy S-400 surface-to-air missile systems) and has scaled back collaboration with the U.S. (for example, by placing restrictions on Incirlik Air Base). Overall, Turkish-U.S. relations have soured since the 2016 coup attempt. How does the burgeoning Turkish-Russian relationship and the Ankara-Washington rift affect U.S. policy goals in Syria?
Eric Edelman: Turkey remains a NATO ally and that’s fundamental. The fact that they’re purchasing an air-defense system that is incompatible with NATO’s systems is going to be a major challenge, not just for the U.S.-Turkish relationship but for the alliance as a whole. So, that’s an issue that’s going to be worked out with the Turks. I know there’s still some hope in U.S. government circles that the Turks will think better of pursuing this deal and will work to procure a NATO-compatible system. That seems to me ought to be the right goal, and we’ll see whether we can get there or not.

The U.S. and Turkey have been at loggerheads over U.S. support for Syrian Kurdish rebels in northern Syria, but pledged in February to work together to address each country’s concern. How will Washington balance its relationship with Turkey and its Kurdish allies that have been critical in the fight against the Islamic State?

Eric Edelman: I think, for a number of years, going back to the outbreak of the Syrian civil war in 2011, the United States and Turkey have had a dialogue of the deaf. We have to have a much more serious, strategic conversation that talks about what Turkey’s interests are and what U.S. interests are—a very frank, private conversation—and then work towards ways that allow both sides to meet their minimum if not maximum goals.

For instance, the Turks say that they would like us to stop supporting the YPG but, in my view, it’s in Turkey’s interests for the United States to continue to be involved with the YPG in order to act as a restraining force in northeastern Syria. I think a frank conversation may help Turkey understand that that’s actually in their interest, not just something that is in our interest.

Clearly, Turks have concerns along their borders. Syria is their neighbor. They have 3 million Syrian refugees hosted in Turkish territory, which is a huge burden for them to bear. They clearly have important interests at stake too, and we ought to try and understand those better and accommodate them the best we can. That can only happen when we have a frank conversation and are not talking past one another as we have been for so much of the last five or six years.

Text from : https://www.usip.org/