ANKARA: Amid bilateral tensions over various issues, US President Trump and Turkish leader Recep Tayyip Erdogan spoke by phone on Saturday and according to the announcement made by the Turkish presidential office, they agreed to promote regional stability and to boost bilateral ties.
The two leaders also agreed to meet in New York during the UN General Assembly due this month.
The two countries are experiencing difficult relations at present, marked especially by Washington’s support for the Syrian Kurdish militia, YPG, as a local partner in the battle against Daesh; Ankara views YPG as a terrorist group.
Another disagreement between Turkey and the US pertains to the requested extradition of Pennsylvania-based cleric Fethullah Gulen, who is considered by Turkey as the mastermind behind last year’s failed coup attempt.
Erdogan recently slammed the US over an indictment of Turkey’s former Economy Minister Zafer Caglayan on charges that he had conspired to help Iran violate US sanctions by illegally transferring hundreds of millions of dollars.
Erdogan sees the indictment as a mistake and as a political move against Turkey. Claiming that Caglayan had not engaged in any wrongdoing, Erdogan told reporters as he was departing for Kazakhstan, “There are bad smells coming from behind this.”
“I hope we’ll get a chance to discuss this issue in the United States. You may be a big nation, but being a just nation is something else. Being a just nation requires the legal system to work fairly,” he said.
In addition to that, a US Senate committee on Thursday approved a measure to block the US government from supporting weapons sales to security forces protecting Erdogan. The move was in response to the violence against protesters that was carried out by Erdogan’s bodyguards during his visit to Washington this spring. A total of 19 people, including 15 Turkish security officials, have been indicted and this further complicates bilateral ties.
Experts note that these key issues will top the agenda and will surely be raised by Erdogan during his upcoming meeting with Trump.
Ozgur Unluhisarcikli, Ankara office director of the German Marshall Fund of the United States, thinks that the alliance between the two countries has been reduced to transactional cooperation based on mutual distrust and grievances.
Even so, for Unluhisarcikli, there are several issues on which the two countries have mutual interests and other issues where they need to avoid collusion.
“At this point, removing the Al-Qaeda presence in Syria’s Idlib, the planned independence referendum in the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) scheduled for Sept. 25, how to meet Turkey’s need to train new F16 pilots to replace those that were removed from military service after the coup attempt will be the top issues on the agenda,” he told Arab News.
Concerning the controversial items on the bilateral meeting agenda, Unluhisarcikli said, “Erdogan holds the ‘Washington elite’ responsible for these developments and spares President Trump from criticism as he still hopes to build a constructive relationship with the current US administration.”
According to Ahmet K. Han, an international relations professor at Istanbul’s Kadir Has University, this visit will not see a drastic transformation in bilateral ties but it has certain important political purposes from the Turkish side.
“Turkey now, more than ever, has to maintain a balance in its foreign policy, including its relations with the United States, as its previous ambition to develop an autonomous foreign policy proved to be unsustainable — at least at the level aspired to by her decision makers,” Han told Arab News.
“Turkey’s intention is to design a renewed multi-dimensional relationship inside the Beltway. Also, internationally, it tries to avoid becoming isolated on the global stage.”
For these purposes, Han noted, Ankara now wants to establish bipartisan contacts with key individuals in Washington, including some outside the administration.
“Erdogan also aims to develop a separate, preferably a tightly circled one-on-one relationship, with Trump which will allow Turkey to bypass some influential figures within the administration, who the Turkish side sees as categorically acting against Turkish interests and restricting Trump by their foreign policy reflexes,” he said.
Experts argue that Turkey will use this month’s UN meeting as an opportunity to raise the issue of the humanitarian crisis in Myanmar where about 270,000 Rohingya Muslims have fled violence directed at them. Turkey recently extended a helping hand to the region by delivering 1,000 tons of aid for 100,000 families.
Han said that Ankara feels the UN is an adequate platform to advertise its humanitarian and “conscientious” foreign policy, augmenting its international reputation and increasing the legitimacy of its interests elsewhere, especially in Syria.
“With a claim to be a world leader, Erdogan will try and make use of this UN meeting to turn Turkey’s sensitivity about the Rohingya Muslims into a public opinion victory,” Han said.
Han also noted that frequent contacts between Trump and Erdogan also meant an effort by Turkey to anticipate the legal process in the US over contentious issues between the two countries — especially the Gulen case, Caglayan indictment and the situation with Erdogan’s security detail — with an expected concern on managing these issues.
“The Turkish approach is dominated by a strong conviction that these processes in the US are driven by political concerns, aiming to manipulate Turkey’s domestic politics, largely predicated on the repudiation of the American argument on judicial independence.”
Erdogan and Trump met earlier on May 16 at the White House and ended with joint commitments to cooperate on counterterrorism efforts. The meeting failed to deliver concrete outcomes concerning the ongoing controversies that continue to divide the two countries. Hopes are pinned on this coming meeting.
Erdogan and Trump reaffirm strategic partnership
Erdogan and Trump reaffirm strategic partnership
Turkiye to tell US that Syria needs to be rid of terrorists, Turkish source says
- Ankara has repeatedly demanded that its NATO ally Washington halt its support for the YPG
ANKARA: Turkish officials will tell US Under Secretary of State John Bass during talks in Ankara this week that Syria needs to be rid of terrorist groups to achieve stability and security, a Turkish Foreign Ministry source said on Thursday.
Bass’ visit comes amid repeated warnings from Turkiye that it could mount a cross-border military offensive into northeastern Syria against the Kurdish YPG militia if the group does not meet its demands.
The YPG spearheads the US-allied Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), which played an important role in defeating Islamic State in Syria. Ankara views the group as terrorists and an extension of the Kurdish militants waging a decades-old insurgency against the Turkish state, and has said it must lay down its weapons and disband.
During his visit to Ankara on Thursday and Friday, Bass will hold talks with Turkiye’s deputy foreign ministers, the source said, adding the talks would focus on Syria.
Talks are expected to “focus on steps to establish stability and security in Syria and to support the establishment of an inclusive government,” the source said.
“Naturally, the Turkish side is expected to strongly repeat that, for this to happen, the country needs to be rid of terrorist elements,” the person said, adding the sides would also discuss expanding the US sanctions exemption to Syria for the country to rebuild.
Ankara has repeatedly demanded that its NATO ally Washington halt its support for the YPG. It has mounted several incursions against the group and controls swathes of territory in northern Syria.
Syria’s Kurdish factions have been on the back foot since the ousting of former President Bashar Assad, with the new administration being friendly to Turkiye.
37 killed in north Syria clashes between pro-Turkiye, Kurdish forces: monitor
- Latest reported fighting comes despite the US saying it was working to address Turkiye’s concerns in Syria
- Syria’s Kurds control much of the oil-rich northeast of the country, where they enjoy de facto autonomy
DAMASCUS: Battles between Turkish-backed groups, supported by air strikes, and Kurdish-led forces killed 37 people on Thursday in Syria’s northern Manbij region, a war monitor said.
The latest reported fighting comes despite the United States saying Wednesday that it was working to address Turkiye’s concerns in Syria to dissuade the NATO ally from escalating an offensive against Kurdish fighters.
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights war monitor reported “fierce battles in the Manbij countryside... in the past hours between the (Kurdish-led) Syrian Democratic Forces and the (Turkish-backed) National Army factions... with Turkish air cover.”
“The attacks killed 37 people in a preliminary toll,” mostly Turkish-backed combatants, but also six SDF fighters and five civilians, said the British-based Observatory with a network of sources inside Syria.
The monitor said at least 322 people have been killed in fighting in the Manbij countryside since last month.
On Wednesday, Mazloum Abdi, who heads the US-backed SDF, said his group supported “the unity and integrity of Syrian territory.” In a written statement, he called on Syria’s new authorities “to intervene in order for there to be a ceasefire throughout Syria.”
Abdi’s comments followed what he called a “positive” meeting between Kurdish leaders and the Damascus authorities late last month.
Turkish-backed factions in northern Syria resumed their fight with the SDF at the same time as Islamist-led militants were launching an offensive on November 27 that overthrew Syrian president Bashar Assad just 11 days later.
The pro-Ankara groups succeeded in capturing Kurdish-held Manbij and Tal Rifaat in northern Aleppo province, despite US-led efforts to establish a truce in the Manbij area.
The fighting has continued since, with mounting casualties.
On Wednesday Washington’s Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Turkiye had “legitimate concerns” about Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) militants inside Syria and called for a resolution in the country that includes the departure of “foreign terrorist fighters.”
“That’s a process that’s going to take some time, and in the meantime, what is profoundly not in the interest of everything positive we see happening in Syria would be a conflict, and we’ll work very hard to make sure that that doesn’t happen,” Blinken told reporters in Paris.
Turkiye on Tuesday threatened a military operation against Kurdish forces in Syria unless they accepted Ankara’s conditions for a “bloodless” transition after Assad’s fall.
Syria’s Kurds control much of the oil-rich northeast of the country, where they enjoyed de facto autonomy during much of the civil war since 2011.
The US-backed SDF spearheaded the military campaign that ousted Daesh group militants from their last territory in Syria in 2019.
But Turkiye accuses the main component of the SDF, the People’s Protection Units (YPG), of being affiliated with the PKK, which has waged a four-decade insurgency against the Turkish state.
The PKK is considered a terrorist organization by Turkiye, the United States, the European Union and most of Turkiye’s Western allies.
Turkiye has mounted multiple operations against the SDF since 2016.
Gaza rescuers say children among 12 killed in Israeli strikes
- Israeli air strikes and shelling continues across Gaza, even as mediators push on with their efforts to halt the fighting
GAZA STRIP, Palestinian Territories: Gaza’s civil defense agency said Israeli forces pounded the Palestinian territory on Thursday, killing at least 12 people including three girls, 15 months into the war.
The latest strikes came as Qatar, Egypt, and the United States mediate negotiations in Doha between Israel and Hamas militants for a deal to end the fighting in Gaza and secure the release of hostages.
Three girls and their father were killed when an air strike hit their house in Nuseirat refugee camp in central Gaza, the civil defense agency reported.
Local paramedic Mahmud Awad said he helped transfer the bodies of two girls and their father, Mahmud Abu Kharuf to a hospital.
“Their bodies were found under the rubble of the house that the occupation bombed in the Nuseirat camp,” Awad said. He added that the body of the third girl had been found earlier by residents.
In a separate strike, eight people were killed when their house was struck in the town of Jabalia in northern Gaza, where the army has focused its offensive since October 6.
Several more were wounded in that strike, the civil defense agency said.
Israeli air strikes and shelling continues across Gaza, even as mediators push on with their efforts to halt the fighting and secure a deal for the release of hostages still held in Gaza.
On Wednesday, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in Paris that a ceasefire was “very close.”
“I hope that we can get it over the line in the time that we have,” Blinken said, referring to President-elect Donald Trump’s inauguration on January 20.
But if not, “I believe that when we get that deal – and we’ll get it – it’ll be on the basis of the plan that President (Joe) Biden put before the world back in May.”
In May, Biden unveiled a three-phase plan for the release of the hostages and a ceasefire in Gaza.
Lebanon’s parliament convenes again to pick a president after 12 failed attempts over 2 years
- There are indications that Thursday’s vote may produce a head of state
- The leading candidate is Lebanese army commander Joseph Aoun
BEIRUT: Lebanon’s parliament again convened on Thursday to make yet another effort to elect a president, filling a vacuum that’s lasted for more than two years.
While 12 previous attempts have failed to choose a successor to former President Michel Aoun, whose term ended in October 2022, there are indications that Thursday’s vote may produce a head of state.
The leading candidate is Lebanese army commander Joseph Aoun, no relation to the former president. He is widely seen as the preferred candidate of the United States and Saudi Arabia, whose assistance Lebanon will need as it seeks to rebuild after a 14-month conflict between Israel and the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah.
Hezbollah previously backed another candidate, Suleiman Frangieh, the leader of a small Christian party in northern Lebanon with close ties to former Syrian President Bashar Assad.
However, on Wednesday, Frangieh announced he had withdrawn from the race and endorsed Aoun, apparently clearing the way for the army chief.
Lebanon’s fractious sectarian power-sharing system is prone to deadlock, both for political and procedural reasons. The small, crisis-battered Mediterranean country has been through several extended presidential vacancies, with the longest lasting nearly 2 1/2 years between May 2014 and October 2016. It ended when former President Michel Aoun was elected.
As a sitting army commander, Joseph Aoun is technically barred from becoming president by Lebanon’s constitution. The ban has been waived before, but it means that Aoun faces additional procedural hurdles.
Under normal circumstances, a presidential candidate in Lebanon can be elected by a two-thirds majority of the 128-member house in the first round of voting, or by a simple majority in a subsequent round.
But because of the constitutional issues surrounding his election, Aoun would need a two-thirds majority even in the second round.
Other contenders include Jihad Azour, a former finance minister who is now the director of the Middle East and Central Asia Department at the International Monetary Fund; and Elias Al-Baysari, the acting head of Lebanon’s General Security agency.
The next head of state will face daunting challenges apart from implementing the ceasefire agreement that ended the Israel-Hezbollah war and seeking funds for reconstruction.
Lebanon is six years into an economic and financial crisis that decimated the country’s currency and wiped out the savings of many Lebanese. The cash-strapped state electricity company provides only a few hours of power a day.
The country’s leaders reached a preliminary agreement with the IMF for a bail-out package in 2022 but have made limited progress on reforms required to clinch the deal.
Syria is ‘the cornerstone for regional stability,’ GCC tells UN Security Council
- US representative says transition process and government that emerges from it must prioritize destruction of Assad regime’s chemical weapons stockpiles
- Syrian envoy says new Syria ‘willing to play a positive role in international arena … promote international and regional peace and security, will not engage in any conflict or war’
NEW YORK CITY: The Gulf Cooperation Council on Wednesday stressed the need to respect the independence and territorial integrity of Syria, reject foreign interference, combat terrorism and respect the country’s religious and cultural diversity as it embarks on a new chapter of its history after the fall of long-time dictator Bashar Assad.
Speaking on behalf of the GCC, Kuwait’s permanent representative to the UN, Tareq Albanai, expressed its support for a comprehensive and inclusive political process, moves toward national reconciliation, and efforts to rebuild the state.
He called for national unity and comprehensive dialogue, adding that the “stability of Syria is the cornerstone for stability in region.”
Albanai was speaking at the Security Council’s first meeting of the year on Syria. He told members that the GCC decided to participate in the meeting only “to confirm our determination to help the country politically, economically, developmentally and humanitarianly.”
GCC member states categorically reject the repeated attacks on Syria by Israeli occupation forces and call for their immediate withdrawal from Syrian territories, he added.
“We renew our firm position that the Golan is Syrian territory and condemn the expansion of Israeli settlements in the occupied Golan,” Albanai said.
He also called for the lifting of the economic sanctions imposed on Syria during the civil war.
Egypt’s permanent representative to the UN, Osama Abdel Khalek, speaking on behalf of the UN Arab Group, also condemned the ongoing Israeli occupation of the Golan Heights, and what he described as “Israel’s opportunistic exploitation of the current situation to occupy further Syrian territories, bomb cities and infrastructure.”
He urged the Security Council to intervene and put an end to the Israeli “aggression, occupation” and “the illegal presence of all foreign forces in Syria.”
Syria’s permanent representative to the UN, Kusay Aldahak, told the council that caretaker authorities in the country are willing to build “friendly relations with all UN member states based on cooperation and shared interests and away from the policies of polarization.”
He added that the “new Syria is willing to play a positive role in the international arena. It will promote international and regional peace and security, and will not engage in any conflict or war.”
Aldahak called on the UN to “immediately and fully lift the unilateral coercive measures; provide necessary financing to meet needs and recover basic services, mainly electricity; support livelihood projects and sustainable development; reconstruct damaged service facilities; ensure de-mining; rid Syria of the remnants of war; and allow dignified refugees to return to their cities and homes.”
The UN’s humanitarian chief, Tom Fletcher, told council members that close to 13 million Syrians face acute food insecurity at a time when the World Food Programme has been forced to reduce the amount of food assistance it provides by 80 per cent in the past two years as a result of funding shortfalls.
More than 620,000 Syrians remain displaced as a result of the operation to remove Assad in November and December, on top of the 7 million who had already been displaced by more than a
decade of civil war. In the northwest of the country alone, 2 million people are living in camps, Fletcher said.
US ambassador Dorothy Shea said the transition process and the Syrian government that emerges from it must ensure any chemical weapons that remain in the former Assad regime’s stockpiles are secured and destroyed.
“We are encouraged by the cooperation to date and call for the continued commitment of relevant actors in Syria to work with the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons, the United Nations, and other state and non-state partners to chart a course for the complete and verifiable elimination of any remaining elements of a chemical weapons program, and assist released detainees and the families of those whose whereabouts remain unknown,” she said.
Shea also urged the interim government to deter individual acts of vengeance, and to partner with international institutions to identify ways to ensure that those guilty of war crimes and crimes against humanity are held accountable.
Shea said the US welcomes “positive messages from Hayat Tahrir Al-Sham but will ultimately look for progress in actions, not words. We are looking for actions and words that will explore policies that prioritize the well-being of the Syrian people.”
The UN’s special envoy for Syria, Geir Pedersen, said he stands ready to work with the caretaker authorities “on how the nascent and important ideas and steps so far articulated and initiated could be developed towards a credible and inclusive political transition.”
The UK’s permanent representative to the UN, Barbara Woodward, said she was encouraged by the timelines set by the interim authorities for drafting a new constitution and holding elections and a national dialogue, and by their early engagement with the international community.
She called for their continued cooperation with UN as she welcomed the caretaker government’s efforts “to secure the chemical weapons stock and work with OPCW to fully declare and verify the destruction of such weapons. Now is the moment to close the Syria chemical weapons file once and for all.”
Russian ambassador Vassily Nebenzia said: “Syria has more than enough problems and their severity should in no case be underestimated.”
He warned of the “fairly high risk of intensification of hostilities” in many parts of the country, in particular Aleppo and Quneitra. He also highlighted “the direct threat to the territorial integrity of Syria” arising from “the unlawful actions of Israel, which is carrying out a policy of fait accompli in the occupied Golan Heights, and 500 square kilometers of Syrian land have already been seized.”
Nebenzia blamed sanctions imposed by the US “and its satellites” for exacerbating the humanitarian crisis in the country. As result of these sanctions, the Syrian economy is “under extreme pressure and is not able to cope with the challenges facing the country,” he added.
