Officials in the United States are increasingly worried that Turkey will soon launch an incursion into northern Syria that would force a US withdrawal from the country, US media reported on Thursday
WASHINGTON (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 03rd October, 2019) Officials in the United States are increasingly worried that Turkey will soon launch an incursion into northern Syria that would force a US withdrawal from the country, US media reported on Thursday.The officials have seen "mounting evidence" that Turkey could send troops into northern Syria in the coming days, giving the US "no choice" but to leave the country, the Wall Street Journal reported.
Such a move would trigger a clash between the Turkish military and Kurdish fighters in Syria, said the report, which cited unidentified officials.
Turkish officials did not respond to the newspaper's questions about their plans, but one of them complained that talks between Washington and Ankara on the issue were moving too slowly. The Turkish official said that it appears that Washington is once again "trying to buy time."
If Turkey launches a full-scale incursion into northern Syria with heavy arms, the United States may have only one choice - to withdraw its 1,000 troops from the country in order to avoid conflict with a NATO ally, the report said.
On August 7, Turkey and the United States agreed to create a safe zone in northern Syria after months of tensions between the two countries over the presence of Kurdish militants, seen as terrorists by Ankara. However, the deal has not been fully implemented yet.
Later in August, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan warned that his country could launch a military operation against Kurdish forces in Syria to the east of the Euphrates River if the United States fails to meet Ankara's conditions for a safe zone.
On Wednesday, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said that Russia is closely following Ankara's statements about the possibility of launching an operation against Syria's Kurds, and it believes that while Turkey has the right to defend itself, Syria's sovereignty should be respected.
