Alwaght- The US is apparently considering to end arming Syria's Kurdish militias who has acted as Washington's proxy in Syria's crisis, Turkey says.
After a phone conversation between Turkish and American Presidents, White House in a Friday statement announced that "Consistent with our previous policy, President Trump also informed President Erdogan of pending adjustments to the military support provided to our partners on the ground in Syria, now that the battle of Raqqa is complete and we are progressing into a stabilization phase to ensure that ISIS cannot return”.
Backed and armed by the US, the so-called Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) also known as Kurdish People’s Protection Units (YPG) -a predominantly Kurdish militia that Ankara considers as an extension of Turkey-based Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) terrorist group- has managed to liberate Syrian city of Raqqa on 17 October 2017.
Later in the day, Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu told reporters that the American head of state had actually pledged to stop arming the Kurdish People’s Protection Units (YPG).
“Mr. Trump clearly stated that he had given clear instructions, and that the YPG won’t be given arms and that this nonsense should have ended a long time ago,” the Associated Press quoted him as saying at a news conference that followed the call.
The Trump White House’s decision to stop arming Kurdish fighters is expected to eliminate what has become a major source of tension between Washington and Ankara, which is also a key NATO ally.
The military support first began under Trump’s predecessor Barack Obama, whose administration provided the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) with weapons and training.
The SDF, which opposes the government of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, is controlled by the YPG.
Trump and Erdogan talked over the phone days after the Turkish leader attended a trilateral summit on Syria with Russian President Vladimir Putin and his Iranian counterpart Hassan Rouhani in the Black Sea resort of Sochi.
Putin also talked to Trump ahead of the summit, emphasizing the “need to keep Syria’s sovereignty, independence and territorial integrity intact.”
