Headline: US Senator Warns Turkey: Don’t Mess with Kurds in Syria
Subhead: American Lawmaker Urges Caution as Turkey’s Erdogan Vows to ‘Eliminate’ Kurdish Fighters
Byline: By [Your Name], NRK
Body:
In an unexpected show of unity, a powerful US senator has warned Turkey against taking military action against Kurdish fighters in Syria. Speaking on the Senate floor, John Kennedy (D-RI) urged Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan to stand down, saying, "My message to Mr. Erdogan is: Don’t do it. Leave the Kurds in peace!"
The senator’s remarks come as tensions escalate between Turkey and the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), which have controlled northeastern Syria since 2012. The SDF, backed by the US, played a crucial role in the fight against ISIS and now faces an uncertain future following the collapse of the Assad regime.
Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan has made clear his government’s intention to target the Kurdish fighters, stating, "Our strategic goal is to eliminate YPG, to get rid of them." Turkey views the YPG, the military wing of the Kurdish PYD party, as an affiliate of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), which it considers a terrorist organization.
Professor Brynjar Lia, an expert on Middle Eastern politics at the University of Oslo, believes that Erdoğan’s hardline stance on the Kurdish issue is driven by domestic politics. "Erdoğan feels he has to be uncompromising on the Kurdish issue after ultranationalists in Turkey did well in recent local elections," Lia told NRK.
The Turkish government has also been emboldened by its support for the offensive that led to the fall of the Assad regime. Turkey is now seeking to capitalize on the power vacuum in Syria, with its foreign minister, Hakan Fidan, holding talks with Syria’s de facto leader, Ahmed al-Shara, to discuss the country’s future.
Both leaders agreed on the need to dismantle the armed Kurdish groups and integrate them into the Syrian army under the control of Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), a Turkish-backed opposition group. However, the Kurdish-led SDF has signaled its willingness to engage in negotiations if a ceasefire can be established with the Turkish-backed factions.
Meanwhile, US National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan has attempted to reassure the SDF, stating that one of the key issues in Washington is how to "stand up for our partners." However, with just weeks left before Donald Trump takes office as the new US president, it remains unclear how the American stance on Syria will evolve.
Trump has previously expressed his desire to withdraw US troops from Syria, tweeting, "Let them fight their own wars." In a press conference in Damascus, Turkish Foreign Minister Fidan even offered Trump a ‘mathematical calculation’ to convince him to side with Turkey rather than the Kurds.
However, experts are increasingly concerned that the chaos in northeastern Syria could lead to a resurgence of ISIS. French intelligence has warned of the risk of ISIS exploiting the power vacuum to rebuild its forces, with the terror group already stepping up its attacks in recent months.
The US Central Command has also expressed fears that ISIS could launch a coordinated effort to free thousands of its fighters currently held in prisons in northeastern Syria. This strategy has proven successful for ISIS in the past, with hundreds of prisoners escaping during a prison raid in 2022.
"ISIS has around 1500-3000 fighters in Syria and Iraq. If they manage to free 4000, they would suddenly double their strength," warns Truls Tønnessen, a senior researcher at the Norwegian Defence Research Establishment.
As the situation in Syria remains fluid, one thing is clear: the Kurdish fighters, backed by the US, will not go down without a fight. And with a powerful US senator now speaking out in their defense, they may yet find an ally in their struggle to maintain control of northeastern Syria.
