Alwaght- The US officials have confirmed that they have reached an agreement with Turkey based on which Washington will make way for Turkey to create a "safe zone" and launch attacks against the Kurds. In return, Turkey will let the US use Incirlik Air Base to stage airstrikes and target the ISSI positions.
A Pentagon official confirmed that Turkey and the US have reached an accord on what he termed "cleaning the northern Syria of ISIS forces". The official, who requested anonymity, told AFP: the plan which Washington and Ankara have agreed on, would create what officials from both countries are calling an "ISIS-free zone" and would further ensure the security of Turkey's border with Syria. However, before he confirmed the news, Turkish authorities had declared that they have reached an accord with the US on this matter. Turkey’s Prime Minister, Ahmet Davutoğlu had said that they have reached an agreement with Washington to establish a buffer zone on the border with Syria: however, he stressed that not only the ISIS terrorists will be driven out of the area, but also the Kurdish forces that Turkey calls them terrorists will be driven out. Earlier last week, Javan Daily paper published a report on Saturday which suggested that Washington and Ankara have negotiated a deal. The deal was struck after a year of secret negations between the US and Turkey. According to the deal, Ankara will allow the US planes to use the Incirlik Air Base to strike ISIS terrorists. In return, the Obama administration has agreed to the establishment of a "safe zone" in northwestern Syria that "moderate Syrian opposition forces" would protect along with Turkish and American airpower.
Turkey has agreed to let the US use Incirlik Air Base, while Turkish officials previously had announced they would not allow the US to use the Incirlik Air Base unless Washington agrees to defeat Bashar al-Assad government; however, the US insisted that attacks should only be focused on the ISIS terrorists. It is not clear whether the White House has agreed with the details and conditions stipulated by Turkey. The official from both countries have reclined to publicly discuss the issue, but some media sources have claimed that the US has assured Russia that attacks are not aimed to defeat Bashar al-Assad government. According to Fars News Agency, some news sources report that the US and Russia have agreed to let Bashar al-Assad remain in power as the Syrian president. Walla, an Israeli news website reported that "President Barack Obama has talked to Russian officials about the Syrian crisis, and it is clear that the US want to resolve the crisis in Syria in a way that Bashar al-Assad remains in power". On Sunday, the media aired the news of telephone conversation between Erdogan and Putin, the detail of the talks have yet to be announced, but the Russians have not officially reacted to the Turkish airstrikes. Analysts suggest that "immediate interests" of Turkey is one of reasons why Ankara suddenly changed its position and allowed the US to use Incirlik Air Base. Steven Cook, senior fellow for West Asia studies at the Council on Foreign Relations (CFR), in an analytical article published on the website of the organization reiterated that Ankara, which has grown increasingly uncomfortable as the Kurds have made gains against ISIS forces in Syria, is primarily interested in suppressing the Kurdish nationalism. Besides, the recent election victory of the Kurds revived the Kurdish nationalism among the Kurds in Turkey; therefore, Rajab Tayyip Erdogan's government found it necessary to take some measures against the Kurds. Noting that up to now, Turkey's gains have been much less than the cost it has paid, Cook warned the US officials not to fully rely on Turkey and avoid the quagmire of Syria. Cook also emphasized that Ankara has focused almost exclusively on its sudden interest in combatting ISIS and the fight against the terrorist group would give more legitimacy to Ankara to advance its goals. Recep Tayyip Erdogan said on Tuesday that Turkey's fight against terrorism will continue until it achieves its goals. Turkey will continue military operations to maintain security in its land. All Turkey's allies agree on the fight against terrorism. While Turkey has just begun the attacks against ISIS, there are credible reports that over the last two years, the Turkish intelligence agencies have been collaborating with the ISIS terrorist group.
Demirtas: we are the main target!
The act of targeting the forces of the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) has raised the criticism of the co-leader of the People's Democratic Party in Turkey. Saladin Demirtas, the co-leader of the left-wing pro-Kurdish Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP) in Turkey, in a statement, referring to the attacks that the army and the government of Turkey launched against PKK targets, asserted the attacks are aimed to remove the Kurds from the upcoming elections. Posting the news, Kurdpress News Agency reported that Demirtas has emphasized that the plot is so simple that anyone can notice it with a deep look into recent developments in Turkey. The co-leader of the People's Democratic Party said the airstrikes against PKK camps in the Kurdistan region, launched immediately after the terrorist attack in Suruç, are the joint efforts of the Turkish army and government to cover up the Suruç terrorist attack and direct the public opinion of the Turkish nation.
PKK: we will respond
Stressing that the party will respond to all attacks launched against its positions, the military wing of the PKK declared it will never response to the attacks from the Kurdistan Region, rather it will respond from the Turkish Kurdistan. Bakhtiar Dogan, a spokesman for the military wing of the PKK said, in the past two days the Turkish warplanes once again targeted the regions of Xwakurk, Haftanin and Zab in the Kurdistan Region and areas in the vicinity of the Turkish border. He added: "We will continue our struggle, and the Turkish attacks cannot deter us from our own goals. Our response against the Turkish army will never be from the Kurdistan Region in Iraq, rather it will be from the Turkish Kurdistan and we will certainly respond to all the attacks".
