Turkey: Russian invitation to Kurdish party for Syria talks ‘unacceptable’

Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. (Presidential Press Service, pool photo via AP)
Updated 02 November 2017
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Turkey: Russian invitation to Kurdish party for Syria talks ‘unacceptable’

ANKARA: Turkey and Russia’s relationship, boosted by the duo’s attempts to negotiate an end to the war in Syria, will likely be damaged by Moscow’s decision to invite Syria’s main Kurdish political party to the proposed congress scheduled for Nov. 18 in Sochi. Russia had pledged to invite all of Syria’s rival parties to the congress.
In a press conference on Wednesday, Turkey’s presidential spokesperson Ibrahim Kalin called Russia’s invitation of the Kurdish-led Democratic Union Party (PYD), and its armed affiliate, People’s Protection Units (YPG), to the congress “unacceptable,” and said the Turkish government considered it an “imposition.” ‘
The PYD, which — along with the YPG — currently controls around a quarter of Syrian territories, opened a representative office in Moscow in February 2016 and is regarded by Russia as a legitimate and influential actor in the reconstruction of war-torn Syria.
But Turkey sees the PYD as a spinoff of the Kurdistan Workers Party, which it (along with multiple other countries) lists as a terrorist organization for its decade-long insurgency in Turkey and Iraq. Turkey had vetoed the PYD’s participation in the previous peace talks.  
“We have immediately conveyed our reaction,” Kalin told reporters, adding that the Turkish government approves invitations to all other Syrian Kurdish groups. 
Kalin also explained that during the seventh round of Russia-Turkey-led peace talks held earlier this week in Astana, Turkish officials told Moscow that “such initiatives will not be welcomed.”
The Syrian opposition announced on Wednesday that they had concerns about any Russian-sponsored congress, preferring the directions taken by UN-led peace talks in Geneva, which have been running in tandem with the Astana talks.
Nursin Atesoglu Guney, dean of the faculty of economics, administrative and social sciences at Bahcesehir Cyprus University, suggested that Russia may have seen its PYD/YPG invitation as a tool to gain concessions from regional actors. 
“Russia has always kept the PYD card in hand,” Guney told Arab News. “But it also knows that Ankara will not take a step back on this issue.” 
Guney stressed that Russia’s intention to include the PYD and YPG in the Sochi congress should also be viewed through “the lens of US-Russian competition on the ground,” since the Kurdish parties are backed by America against Daesh in Syria. 
Guney also said that the partnership between Moscow and Ankara is “issue-based,” so this latest disagreement would likely be resolved without escalation. 
Emre Ersen, a Syria analyst from Marmara University in Istanbul, said that while Turkey and Russia currently need each other in order to maintain stability in Syria’s four de-escalation zones — especially Idlib — they “still have significant differences regarding the issue of Syrian Kurds.” 
Ersen told Arab News he believes Moscow’s priority is “to oblige the Syrian Kurds to make a deal with the Assad government.” 
According to Ersen, the Sochi congress could facilitate that process, since a draft constitution prepared by Russia last year included cultural autonomy rights for the Syrian Kurds. 
“It is interesting to note that the Assad regime has also signalled that it could be open to the idea of autonomy for the Kurds,” Ersen said. “Therefore, they can find a common ground with the Syrian Kurds with the influence of Moscow. If Moscow can achieve this, it can also move the Syrian Kurds away from the orbit of Washington.” 
However, he warned: “As indicated by the Turkish government’s reaction to the inclusion of PYD in the upcoming congress, Ankara is not happy about the vision Moscow has in mind.”
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan recently hinted that the Turkish Army could turn its attention to the northern Syrian district of Afrin — currently controlled by the YPG — once its ongoing operation in Idlib, in coordination with Russian forces, is complete. 
Ersen noted that, for Russia, the ongoing Astana process is vital to ensure both Turkey and Iran’s regional ambitions are kept in check and that neither gains significant geopolitical leverage in Syria independent of Russian interests. 
“Still, Moscow will need to find a way to appease Turkey in order to implement its own vision in Syria,” he added. “It could be open to making minor concessions to Turkey regarding the Afrin issue, if Ankara silently approves the Russian vision with regard to the future of Syria.”


Israel says it will re-open crossing into Gaza as pressure builds to get more aid in

Updated 12 sec ago
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Israel says it will re-open crossing into Gaza as pressure builds to get more aid in

JERUSALEM: The Israeli military said on Friday it was planning to reopen the Kissufim crossing into central Gaza to increase the flow of aid into the southern end of the Gaza Strip.
The move comes amid growing international pressure on Israel to get more aid into Gaza, where aid agencies have warned of a gathering humanitarian crisis in the north of the enclave, where Israeli troops have been conducting a major operation for more than a month.
The new crossing would be opened following engineering work over recent weeks by army engineers to build inspection points and paved roads, the army said.
Last month, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin wrote to Israeli officials demanding concrete measures to address the worsening situation in the Palestinian enclave.
The letter, which was posted to the Internet by a reporter from Axios, gave the Israeli government 30 days to improve the humanitarian situation in Gaza.
Among the demands included in the letter was for the opening of a fifth crossing into Gaza.

Sudan army govt accuses paramilitaries of causing 120 civilian deaths in 2 days

Updated 6 min 33 sec ago
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Sudan army govt accuses paramilitaries of causing 120 civilian deaths in 2 days

  • The Janjaweed militia (paramilitaries) committed a new massacre in the town of Hilaliya

PORT SUDAN: The Sudanese foreign ministry accused paramilitaries late Thursday of causing at least 120 civilian deaths over two days in Al-Jazira state, reportedly in attacks involving gunfire, food poisoning and lack of medical care.
“The Janjaweed militia (paramilitaries) committed a new massacre in the town of Hilaliya in Al-Jazira state over the past two days, resulting in 120 martyrs so far, killed either by gunfire or due to food poisoning and lack of medical care affecting hundreds of civilians,” the ministry of the army-backed government said in a statement obtained by AFP.


Yemen’s Houthi militants shoot down what they say was a US drone as American military investigates

Updated 08 November 2024
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Yemen’s Houthi militants shoot down what they say was a US drone as American military investigates

  • The US military acknowledged the videos circulating online showing what appeared to be a flaming aircraft dropping out of the sky
  • The Houthis claimed to have downed an American MQ-9 Reaper drone

DUBAI: Yemen’s Houthi militants shot down what they described as an American drone early Friday, potentially the latest downing of a US spy drone as the militants continue their attacks on the Red Sea corridor.
The US military acknowledged the videos circulating online showing what appeared to be a flaming aircraft dropping out of the sky and a field of burning debris in what those off-camera described as an area of Yemen’s Al-Jawf province. The military said it was investigating the incident, declining to elaborate further.
It wasn’t immediately clear what kind of aircraft was shot down in the low-quality night video. The Houthis, in a later statement, claimed to have downed an American MQ-9 Reaper drone.
The Houthis have surface-to-air missiles — such as the Iranian missile known as the 358 — capable of downing aircraft. Iran denies arming the militants, though Tehran-manufactured weaponry has been found on the battlefield and in sea shipments heading to Yemen for the Shiite Houthi militants despite a United Nations arms embargo.
The Houthis have been a key component of Iran’s self-described “Axis of Resistance” during the Mideast wars that includes Lebanon’s Hezbollah, Hamas and other militant groups.
Since Houthis seized the country’s north and its capital of Sanaa in 2014, the militants have shot down MQ-9 Reaper drones in Yemen in 2017, 2019, 2023 and 2024. The US military has declined to offer a total figure for the number of drones it has lost during that time.
Reapers, which cost around $30 million apiece, can fly at altitudes up to 50,000 feet (15,240 meters) and have an endurance of up to 24 hours before needing to land. The aircraft have been flown by both the US military and the CIA over Yemen for years.
The Houthis have targeted more than 90 merchant vessels with missiles and drones since the Israel-Hamas war in the Gaza Strip started in October 2023. They seized one vessel and sank two in the campaign that has also killed four sailors. Other missiles and drones have either been intercepted by a US-led coalition in the Red Sea or failed to reach their targets, which have also included Western military vessels.
The militants maintain that they target ships linked to Israel, the US or the UK to force an end to Israel’s campaign against Hamas in Gaza. However, many of the ships attacked have little or no connection to the conflict, including some bound for Iran. The tempo of the Houthi sea attacks also has waxed and waned over the months.
In October, the US military unleashed B-2 stealth bombers to target underground bunkers used by the Houthis.


Israeli defense minister officially steps down

Updated 08 November 2024
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Israeli defense minister officially steps down

  • Israel has been rocked by Gallant’s dismissal, with the news setting off mass protests across the country
  • Israel Katz, his replacement, currently serves as foreign minister and is a longtime Netanyahu loyalist and veteran Cabinet minister
Israel has been rocked by Gallant’s dismissal, with the news setting off mass protests across the country
Israel Katz, his replacement, currently serves as foreign minister and is a longtime Netanyahu loyalist and veteran Cabinet minister

TEL AVIV: Israeli defense minister Yoav Gallant officially stepped down Friday in a ceremony that replaced him with Israel Katz, the former foreign minister, after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu fired Gallant earlier this week.
Israel has been rocked by Gallant’s dismissal, with the news setting off mass protests across the country. Many in Israel view Gallant as the sole moderate voice in a far-right government, and see his removal as a sign that the far-right government of Benjamin Netanyahu has lost interest in returning hostages still held in Gaza.
Israel Katz, his replacement, currently serves as foreign minister and is a longtime Netanyahu loyalist and veteran Cabinet minister.
Also Friday, the Israeli military body handling aid to Gaza, COGAT, said it is preparing to open a new aid crossing into Gaza as the deadline for a US deadline to increase desperately-needed aid into the war-ravaged territory approaches. But the body did not say when the crossing will open nor if aid will be delivered to north of Gaza, where the UN and aid groups say the humanitarian situation is most dire.
The United Nations humanitarian office says Israel’s monthlong offensive in northern Gaza is preventing the estimated 75,000 to 95,000 Palestinians in the north from receiving essential items for their survival.
On Thursday, the Israeli military says it will allow 300 truckloads of humanitarian aid supplied by the United Arab Emirates to enter the Gaza Strip in the coming days. That’s less than the 350 trucks per day that the United States said it wants to see enter the war-ravaged territory.
The Israel-Hamas war began after militants stormed into Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, killing some 1,200 people — mostly civilians — and abducting 250 others. Israel’s military response in Gaza has killed more than 43,000 people, Palestinian health officials say. They do not distinguish between civilians and combatants, but say more than half of those killed were women and children.
Hezbollah began firing into Israel on Oct. 8, 2023, in solidarity with Hamas in the Gaza Strip. Since the conflict erupted, more than 3,100 people have been killed and some 13,800 wounded in Lebanon, the health ministry reported.

Turkiye, Greece must work together to resolve host of issues, Turkish minister says

Updated 08 November 2024
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Turkiye, Greece must work together to resolve host of issues, Turkish minister says

  • Issues between NATO allies Turkiye and Greece are not limited to disagreements over maritime boundaries and jurisdiction in the eastern Mediterranean

ANKARA: Issues between NATO allies Turkiye and Greece are not limited to disagreements over maritime boundaries and jurisdiction in the eastern Mediterranean, Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan said on Friday, adding the historic rivals must work together to resolve them.
Speaking at a press conference in Athens alongside his Greek counterpart, Fidan also repeated Ankara’s view that a federation model to resolve the dispute over the ethnically-split island of Cyprus was no longer viable, calling for a two-state solution.
He also said Turkiye wanted to deepen cooperation with Greece on irregular migration and counter-terrorism, while increasing cooperation on tourism and cultural affairs.