The United States must work with Turkey to further understand Ankara’s long-term objectives in northern Syria, a senior US Department of State official said during a conference call on Friday.
"Obviously we need to work with the Turks to figure out more about what their long-term intentions are," the official said. "And we need to work with the Turks more to figure out a way that we can work with them to address their legitimate security concerns while at the same time minimizing civilian casualties, and above all else keeping everything focused on the defeat of ISIS [Islamic State] fight which is not over."
On January 20, Turkish army officially declared the launch of an offensive targeting the positions of the Democratic Union Party (PYD) and People's Protection Units (YPG) in Afrin region in northwest Syria. The Turkish AKP government's excuse was the threat against national interests and border security. The operation has been conducted jointly with the Free Syrian Army (FSA) terrorist group.
The State Department official said the United States continues to urge Turkey to restrain its operations in northwestern Syria.
US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson will reaffirm during his upcoming visit to Turkey next week the shared interests and value of the alliance with Ankara, the State Department official said.
Tillerson will also discuss a full range of regional security issues, including the Islamic State terror group and the PKK, the official added.
