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bne March 2018 Southeast Europe I 41
Tillerson’s Turkey visit raises hopes of a reset in relations
Akin Nazli in Belgrade
Erdogan has promised to clear the militia from Turkey’s southern border, which potentially puts Turkish troops at risk of a confrontation with US forces on the ground in Syria. The Turkish president regularly repeats his demand that US forces pull back from Manbij in Syria, which could be the next target of Turkey’s operation.
Tillerson said on February 15, before his Ankara visit, that the US had “never given heavy arms” to the YPG and there was therefore “nothing to take back”.
Ahead of the visit, US national security adviser Lieutenant General H.R. McMas- ter met with Turkish presidential spokes- man Ibrahim Kalin in Istanbul during the weekend. The US Secretary of Defence Jim Mattis and Turkish Defence
Turkey and the US have agreed
to normalise bilateral relations, Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said on February 16 at a joint press meeting with his US counterpart Rex Tillerson in Ankara.
Tillerson’s visit came as relations between Turkey and the US had become increasingly acrimonious. The two countries have clashed recently over the Turkish campaign against the US-armed YPG Kurdish militia in Syria, raising the spectre of possible military engagement between the two Nato members.
While it’s too early to tell how much the meetings between Tillerson and Turk- ish officials will contribute to mending relations, the two countries have at least shown willingness to rebuild their dam- aged rapport.
“The US recognises Turkey’s legitimate right to secure its borders, but called on Ankara to show restraint in its operation in Syria’s Afrin and avoid actions that would escalate tension,” Tillerson said at a press conference after holding a meet- ing with Cavusoglu.
Tillerson also spoke of the two coun- tries’ “shared objectives” in Syria, according to a tweet from the US State Department: “Our objectives for Syria are exactly the same: defeat #ISIS, stabilize the country, and support the political solution that will result in a whole, independent and democratic Syria with free and fair elections.”
Tillerson also held a meeting with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on February 15, but details from the meeting have not been made public.
Prior to Tillerson’s visit, Cavusoglu said on February 12 that Turkey and the US will either fix bilateral relations or they will break completely.
Turkey is targeting the YPG militia in
its air and ground operation in Syria’s northwest Afrin region. Turkey considers
“Erdogan has promised to clear the militia from Turkey’s southern border”
the YPG to be a terrorist group, but the Americans have utilised the YPG in battling Islamic State.
Minister Nurettin Canikli met on Febru- ary 14 in Brussels on the sidelines of a Nato meeting.
US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson arrives in Ankara
Find more Southeast Europe content at www.bne.eu/southeast-europe
Selected headlines from past month:
· Polimeks stops building Ashgabat-Turkmenbashi highway amid Turkmen budget woes · Bulgarian PM asks Prague for documents as probes ordered into sale of CEZ’s
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