ERBIL, Kurdistan Region — Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan warned on Tuesday that his country will no longer tolerate the presence of Kurdish forces in northern Syria, adding that they have not seen a “satisfactory plan” by the US regarding a safe zone.
“If terrorists are not driven out from Manbij within a few weeks, our waiting period will come to an end. In the same way, our waiting period for east of the Euphrates will come to an end if the people of the region, with the help of Turkey, do not gain self-governance within a few months,” Erdogan said.
He made the remarks in Ankara during a parliamentary meeting of his Justice and Development Party (AKP).
He added that the Manbij and east of the Euphrates — which are currently under the control of the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) supported by the US-led international anti-ISIS coalition are “the most important issues” for Turkey.
The SDF is primarily composed of Kurdish and Arab fighters. The mostly-Kurdish People’s Protection Units (YPG) is the backbone of the SDF.
Turkey considers the YPG as the Syrian branch of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK).
Regarding the proposed safe zone in Syria, Erdogan said that his country will not accept any offer from the international community for the proposed safe zone in Syria “except for logistical support.”
“It is crystal clear that none of the safe zones governed by international forces have been successful, lacking lasting peace,” he claimed.
There have been a series of meetings between Turkish and the US officials, discussing the announced US withdrawal of its troops from Syria and the establishment of a safe zone.
Erdogan denied the presence of any “satisfactory plan” has presented by the US. Analysts have predicted a third Turkish operation into Turkey would target the YPG.
Brett McGurk, the former US Special Presidential Envoy to the anti-ISIS coalition told CNN on January 21: “When President Erdogan puts on the table proposals that might look good in concept, every time we send our best people, our best planners, to really dig in to what we can actually do together, it never really pans out."
Syrian partners, US analysts, and lawmakers have made last minute appeals for US President Donald Trump to reconsider his announced withdrawal. However, Trump rarely changes his course on foreign policy.
Trump is expected to address the plan in Syria during his State of the Union Address late on Tuesday night.