The Kurdish Predicament in US - Turkiye Relations/ Eray Aim

The United States' partnership with Syrian Kurdish groups has greatly complicated its interactions with Turkiye. While the US and Turkiye initially worked together to dislodge Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's regime, their interests diverged when countering the Islamic State (ISIS) became the main US concern and countering Kurdish autonomy Turkiye's chief aim. Over Turkish objections, the US trained and equipped Syrian Kurdish forces, which became the principal element of the Syrian Democratic Forces - the US-engineered umbrella group that was instrumental in ousting ISIS from its Syrian strongholds and continues to function as a deterrent, backstopped by a light US presence. The Turkish government would now prefer that the Assad regime re-establish its authority in northern Syria and extinguish Kurdish aspirations for autonomy. The US military presence in Syria prevents such an eventuality. If Syrian Kurds see an opportunity to advance Kurdish autonomy, tensions between the US and Turkiye in the region could significantly increase.

US, TURKIYE, SYRIA