Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu discussed the latest developments regarding northern Syria, the Ukraine War, NATO enlargement and other bilateral issues in a phone call with his U.S. counterpart Antony Blinken on Thursday.
Türkiye will continue to fight terrorists in Syria, Çavuşoğlu told Blinken during the call.
Discussing the latest developments in Syria with Blinken, Çavuşoğlu emphasized that Türkiye's fight against terrorism will continue with determination, according to a statement by the Turkish Foreign Ministry.
Türkiye will not seek permission from anyone to exercise its right to self-defense against the PKK terrorist group and its Syrian branch, the YPG, senior Turkish officials repeated many times.
Recently, Türkiye launched Operation Claw-Sword, a cross-border aerial campaign against the PKK terrorist group and its Syrian wing, the YPG, which have illegal hideouts across the Iraqi and Syrian borders where they plan attacks on Turkish soil. The country's air operation followed a PKK/YPG terrorist attack on Nov. 13 on Istanbul's crowded Istiklal Street that killed six people and left 81 injured. The Turkish Defense Ministry said the operation was carried out in line with the right of self-defense under Article 51 of the United Nations Charter.
After the air operation was launched, President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan also signaled a ground operation in northern Iraq and northern Syria to eliminate the terrorist threat, adding: "This is not limited to just an air operation." The president specified northern Syria's YPG-controlled Tal Rifaat, Manbij and Ain al-Arab (also known as Kobani) regions as possible targets to clear of terrorists. Türkiye has threatened a new military operation into northern Syria since May and upped those threats in the wake of this month's attack. Erdoğan has repeatedly called for a 30-kilometer (18.6-mile) safe zone to protect Türkiye against cross-border attacks from Syrian territory.
The PKK is a designated terrorist organization in the U.S., Türkiye and the European Union, and Washington's support for its Syrian affiliate has been a major strain on bilateral relations with Ankara. The PKK/YPG has controlled much of northeastern Syria after the forces of Syrian regime leader Bashar Assad withdrew in 2012. The U.S. primarily partnered with PKK/YPG terrorists in northeastern Syria in its fight against the Daesh terrorist group. On the other hand, Türkiye strongly opposed the PKK/YPG's presence in northern Syria.
Under the pretext of fighting Daesh, the U.S. has provided military training and given truckloads of military support to the PKK/YPG, despite its NATO ally's security concerns. Underlining that one cannot support one terrorist group to defeat another, Türkiye has conducted its counterterrorism operations throughout, removing a significant number of terrorists from the region.
Since 2016, Ankara has launched a trio of successful ground operations against terrorist groups to prevent the formation of a terror corridor and enable the peaceful settlement of residents: Euphrates Shield (2016), Olive Branch (2018) and Peace Spring (2019).
Çavuşoğlu and Blinken also exchanged views on the latest developments in Ukraine, particularly the implementation of the grain deal.
The two officials also discussed NATO enlargement, Ankara's F-16 procurement process, as well as bilateral visits in the upcoming period.
According to a separate statement by Washington, Blinken thanked Ankara's efforts to ensure the continuation of the U.N.-brokered Black Sea grain initiative.
The two diplomatic leaders also underscored the importance of NATO unity in supporting Ukraine's defense against Russia's invasion, the State Department said, adding Blinken also expressed concern over the situation in Syria.
Meanwhile, Blinken said in a Twitter post that he had a "good call" with his Turkish counterpart, adding he was "grateful for Turkish efforts to get the life-saving Black Sea Grain Initiative swiftly renewed."
"I look forward to continued discussions on Northeast Syria and NATO's response to Russia's unprovoked war against Ukraine," he added.
Türkiye, striving to be a “stabilizing power” in its region, has been maintaining diplomatic efforts to de-escalate the Russia-Ukraine War since it broke out, urging all sides to use restraint and keep an open dialogue, and assuming a critical role in preventing a global food crisis with the landmark Türkiye-brokered grain deal. Ankara even hosted a meeting between the CIA and Russian intelligence service heads recently about Moscow’s nuclear threats in Ukraine.
Türkiye has been seeking to modernize its existing warplanes to update its air force and sought to buy 40 Lockheed Martin F-16 jets and nearly 80 modernization kits from the U.S. after the purchase of F-35s fell through. The sale of U.S. weapons to Türkiye became contentious after Ankara acquired Russian-made S-400 defense missile systems. The deal triggered U.S. sanctions as well as Türkiye’s removal from the F-35 fighter jet program.
The relations between Ankara and Washington have been strained in recent years because of U.S. cooperation with the YPG/PKK terrorist group in Syria, its failure to extradite the wanted ringleader of the Gülenist Terror Group (FETÖ), disagreements over Türkiye's purchase of Russia's S-400 air defense system, and Washington's sanctions on Ankara.
