“Turkey may have secured a higher profile for itself in Syria recently, especially after working out a cease-fire for Idlib with Russia and Erdogan’s hosting of an international Syria conference attended by the leaders of Russia, France and Germany,” writes Semih Idiz. “Nevertheless, Ankara still has to come up with a response to the US position on northern Syria.”
“The United States persisted with its seemingly conflicting policy of conducting patrols with Turkish troops in Manbij west of the Euphrates while cooperating with the PKK-affiliated YPG to the east,” adds Fehim Tastekin. PKK stands for the Kurdistan Workers Party Turkish rebel group; the YPG is the Syrian Kurdish People's Protection Units.