Turkish sources reported that there is an American offer to keep the members of the Kurdish units 30 km away from the Syrian-Turkish border in exchange for Turkey’s retraction of its decision to launch a military operation against them. This comes at a time when Turkish media confirmed that its authorities warned civilians not to approach the border gates for seven days.
Abdulkadir Selvi, a writer in Hurriyet newspaper close to the Turkish government, quoted informed sources as saying that the United States made an offer to Ankara to stop the military escalation in exchange for dispelling security concerns.
“The U.S. offer is to abandon the idea of a ground military operation in northern Syria in exchange for withdrawing the SDF to a distance of 30 kilometres from the Syrian-Turkish border,” Selvi said. He stressed that the US ambassador in Ankara, Jeff Flake, made the offer in a meeting with Defense Minister Hulusi Akar, a few days ago.
The disclosure of the U.S. offer coincides with the announcement of Turkish-Russian negotiations on northern Syria. Middle East Eye quoted Turkish sources, described as “informed” that “Tal Rifaat may be one of the sites targeted in an upcoming attack by Turkish forces.” This comes after a phone call that took place on Thursday between Akar and Russian Sergei Shoigu. During the call, the issue of northern Syria was discussed, according to the Russian agency Novosti.
The Turkish journalist close to the Turkish authorities, Selvi, stressed that Russia and the United States of America oppose the Turkish operation in northern Syria. He pointed out that Turkey is determined to attack, pointing out that international positions must be stronger.
In this context, Turkish media and Turkish analysts close to the Turkish authorities confirmed on social networking sites that the Kilis border state with Syria in southern Turkey, published on Saturday evening, a warning to citizens from approaching the border gates and some important areas in the state for seven days.
It is noteworthy that the last two days witnessed a decline in the frequency of Turkish bombardment after the escalation and intensive air raids that targeted infrastructure, oil fields and gas stations in the countryside of Aleppo, Hasakeh, Deir-ez-Zor and Raqqa. This calmness coincided with the end of the 19th round of Astana talks between the guarantor countries (Turkey, Russia and Iran).
This article was translated and edited by The Syrian Observer. The Syrian Observer has not verified the content of this story. Responsibility for the information and views set out in this article lies entirely with the author.
