Deteriorating US-Turkey relations hinge on Erdogan-Trump ties

Although Washington and Ankara may have a “general agreement” on a Syria safe zone, as Jack Detsch reports, it will likely take US President Donald Trump to close the deal with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

Despite US Syria envoy James Jeffrey’s progress in talks with his Turkish counterparts on a safe zone, Erdogan does not appear close to signing off. The Turkish president is frustrated and embittered by US support for the Kurdish People’s Protection Units (YPG), the militia of the Democratic Union Party (PYD), which forms the core of the Syrian Democratic Forces, and by Washington’s ultimatum on Turkey’s purchase of the S-400 Russian missile defense system. 

On Wednesday, Erdogan slammed US support for the Kurds, saying, “There is no need for me to say what are behind terrorist organizations. There is YPG/PYD in northern Syria. Aren’t they PKK’s extension? Who gives them the biggest support? Our strategic partner. Did they send thousands of truckloads of weapons, ammunition and everything there? They did. What else should we talk about?”