Türkiye is among the countries Secretary of State Antony Blinken recently visited after the overthrow of long-time Syrian dictator Bashar al-Assad. In Ankara, he voiced a key U.S. concern: that de-stabilization in Syria could lead to the re-emergence of ISIS.
“Our countries worked very hard and gave a lot over many years to ensure the elimination of the territorial caliphate of ISIS, to ensure that that threat doesn’t rear its head again, and it’s imperative that we keep at those efforts.”
Complicating such efforts is Türkiye’s view that the Kurdish Syrian Defense Forces, the SDF - a critical U.S. partner in the fight against ISIS - are terrorists. The bulk of the SDF is made up of fighters from the People’s Protection Units, the YPG, which is viewed by Türkiye as part of Kurdistan Workers Party, the PKK, designated by both Türkiye and the United States as a terrorist group. The United States draws a clear distinction between the two.
As the Assad regime collapsed in early December, Türkiye-backed forces attacked SDF positions in northern Syria. On December 17, a U.S.- brokered cease-fire in the Manbij region was temporarily extended for a few days.
State Department Spokesperson Matthew Miller said the United States understands Türkiye’s legitimate right to defend itself from the PKK. But he called the SDF “a vital partner in the fight against ISIS.”
“When you look at the important work that the SDF does to prosecute the fight against ISIS, to secure prisons where ISIS fighters are held, we don’t want to see them distracted from that important duty in any way possible.”
SDF forces secure about 10,000 ISIS prisoners – what U.S. CENTCOM commander General Michael Kurilla called “an ISIS army in detention.”
Spokesperson Miller emphasized that “this is a time to increase stability, not to further devolve into sectarian fighting:”
“[T]he SDF does incredibly important work in the counter ISIS collation, a coalition of which Türkiye, of course, is a member. It’s in the interest of the United States, it’s in the interest of Türkiye, it’s in the interests of the Syrian people, and all the countries in the region that ISIS not rear its head again, that the ISIS fighters who are being held in SDF custody not be released.”
Spokesperson Miller declared, “We don’t want to see any actions that would further destabilize the situation and further lead to the suffering of the Syrian people.”
