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Donald Trump mentioned on Monday that he believed Turkey was behind the insurgent group that toppled Syria’s dictator Bashar al-Assad, claiming Ankara had mounted an “unfriendly takeover” of its neighbour.
Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan was “a sensible man and he’s very powerful”, the US president-elect mentioned at a information convention in Florida, and had made Ankara an important overseas actor in Syria since Assad’s fall.
“They needed it for 1000’s of years, and he received it. These individuals who went in are managed by Turkey,” Trump mentioned. “Turkey did an unfriendly takeover with out lots of lives being misplaced.”
The president-elect’s feedback got here because the US carried out air strikes towards Isis fighters in Syria, and simply days after secretary of state Antony Blinken mentioned Washington was involved with Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, the Islamist group that led a lightning blitz on Damascus earlier this month, forcing Assad to flee the nation.
International coverage analysts mentioned Trump — who will exchange Joe Biden as US president subsequent month — was sending a message to Erdoğan, with whom he has loved a turbulent relationship.
“Trump has issued a warning of types to the brand new rulers of Syria and their patrons, which is ‘rule fastidiously, as a result of we’re watching’,” mentioned Jonathan Schanzer, government director of the Basis for Protection of Democracies think-tank.
Turkey’s relations with HTS have been advanced. It has circuitously backed the group however has supported others that co-ordinated with HTS in its lightning offensive.
“I feel Turkey goes to carry the important thing to Syria,” Trump mentioned.
Trump’s feedback about Erdoğan mirrored the US president-elect’s tendency to maintain world leaders on their toes, a overseas coverage knowledgeable mentioned.
Erdoğan may need thought Trump could be an “ace within the gap”, mentioned Jon Alterman, on the Heart for Strategic and Worldwide Research think-tank. However the Turkish chief could be “undecided precisely the place he sits” following Trump’s feedback, giving the US’s incoming chief leverage.
Trump and Erdoğan fused private camaraderie and geopolitical friction throughout the US chief’s first time period as president. Tensions escalated over Turkey’s buy from Russia of the S-400 missile defence system, which led to Turkey’s ejection from the US’s F-35 fighter jet programme. Ankara’s detention of American pastor Andrew Brunson in 2016 prompted Trump to blacklist Erdoğan advisers and threaten punitive financial sanctions.
Brunson’s launch thawed relations between the leaders. Turkey later capitalised on Trump’s 2019 choice to withdraw US forces from northern Syria, leaving Kurdish forces uncovered to Turkish navy motion.
Ties between Washington and Ankara have improved extra not too long ago, in keeping with Turkish officers and western diplomats, regardless of some stress triggered by Erdoğan’s criticism of Israel over its Gaza offensive.
Turkey additionally ultimately backed Sweden’s accession to Nato earlier this 12 months, after which Washington permitted Ankara’s buy off American F-16 fighter jets. American officers have additionally hailed Turkey’s function in a prisoner alternate between the US and Russia this 12 months and Ankara’s combat towards terrorist teams, together with Isis.
Turkey has, nonetheless, pushed again strongly towards Washington’s help for the Syrian Democratic Forces, a Kurdish-led group that Ankara considers indistinguishable from separatists which have battled the Turkish state.
Washington sees the SDF as an important companion in preserving Isis from considerably reconstituting in Syria within the political vacuum following Assad’s fall.
The US has been finishing up air strikes in Syria towards Isis, together with on Monday when US Central Command mentioned strikes killed 12 fighters working in former regime- and Russian-controlled areas.
Extra reporting by Andrew England in London and Adam Samson in New York
