The Pentagon on Wednesday urged Turkey to suspend its planned operation into territory in northeastern Syria controlled by Kurdish militias fighting the Islamic State (ISIS/ISIL) with the support of the United States.
“Unilateral military action into northeast Syria by any party, particularly as U.S. personnel may be present or in the vicinity, is of grave concern,” Cmdr. Sean Robertson, a Pentagon spokesman, declared, Hurriyet Daily News reports. “We would find any such actions unacceptable.”
“Coordination and consultation between the U.S. and Turkey is the only approach to address issues of security concern in this area,” he also said, adding, “We have solemn obligations to one another’s security. We are fully committed to Turkey’s border security.”
The Pentagon spokesman’s comments came after Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan again threatened to push into Kurdish-held territory in northeastern Syria.
Earlier on Wednesday, the president reportedly cautioned that Turkish troops would begin a military offensive east of the Euphrates river in northern Syria in a “few days.”
“We will start the operation in east of the Euphrates in a few days to save it from the separatist terrorist organization,” Erdogan said, referring to the YPG. “Turkey’s target is never the U.S. soldiers, but rather the members of the terror group.”
Although America’s NATO ally Turkey considers the U.S.-backed Kurdish People’s Protection Units (YPG) to be a component of the Kurdistan Worker’s Party (PKK) terrorist group, the United States continues to support the Syrian Kurds in their fight against ISIS.
The U.S. has helped YPG fighters, the military wing of the Democratic Union Party (PYD), maintain control of large swathes of territory in northern Syria close to the Turkish border.
U.S. support for the Syrian Kurds has strained relations between Washington and Ankara.
