Roundup: Differences remain between U.S., Turkey on training Syrian opposition

Turkey and the Unites States continue to work out their differences on training and equipping moderate Syrian opposition forces despite recent reports that an agreement has already been hammered out between the two allies.

"I do not think we are quite there yet considering the political differences over the final goal of such a program and what would happen to Syrian president Bashar al-Assad in the end," political analyst Idris Gursoy told Xinhua in the Turkish capital of Ankara.

Turkey insists the ultimate goal should be to oust Assad from power while the U.S. says the priority is to degrade the Islamic State (IS) and finally eliminate the group.

The differences were highlighted by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Wednesday in his speech in Ankara in which he criticized the U.S. and Western powers for not conducting land operations against the IS.

"They (Western powers) say we won't enter in a land war. Then we told them, if you do not enter yourselves, let's support the Free Syrian Army (FSA). They did not support the FSA," he said.

Erdogan also criticized the U.S. for airlifting weapons to the Kurdish-populated Syrian city of Ayn al-Arab, also known as Kobane, near the Turkish border, saying that some of the weapons ended up in the hands of the IS, and others went to the Democratic Union Party (PYD), an affiliate of the outlawed Kurdish Workers' Party (PKK).

The PKK is listed as terrorist organization by Turkey, the U.S. and the European Union.

Gursoy, the analyst, said Turkey and the U.S. have already agreed on the program to host the training and equipping program for moderate Syrian opposition forces but details have yet to be worked out.

That goes against Turkish media reports which, citing anonymous official sources, claimed the training is expected to start in March, simultaneously with similar programs in Jordan and Saudi Arabia. The aim is to train 15,000 Syrian rebels over three years.

However, U.S. officials reacted cautiously to those reports.

"I don't have any prediction on the timing of final details," said U.S. Department of State Spokesperson Jen Psaki.

On Thursday, Turkish newspaper Hurriyet, based on an unidentified official account by the U.S. Defense Department, said Turkey and the U.S. agree on the final goals of the program but are working to finalize it.

Turkey has declared since the Syrian crisis started in 2011 that its priority is to remove Assad from power.

However, Washington made it clear that the real goal is to fight with the IS rather than toppling Assad.

"We certainly expect that the moderate opposition may use their training and equipment to fight against the Assad regime," said Psaki of the State Department. "But our focus will continue to be on degrading and defeating ISIL." The United States uses the acronym of the IS's former name, the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant, to refer to the terror group.

Speaking to Xinhua in Ankara, a diplomatic source also confirmed that differences between Turkey and the U.S. remain not only on the final goal of the trained groups but also on broader access to Turkish military facilities by the U.S.-led coalition against the IS.

The official, who wanted to remain anonymous, said technical teams at military and diplomatic level have been negotiating details with much ease but political differences haven't been resolved yet.

Ankara and Washington are at odds over setting up a safe zone and no-fly zone in northern Syria. Turkey insists on declaring a safe zone inside Syrian territory, protected by a no-fly zone, in order to train opposition forces and to take care of refugees.

Turkish Disaster and Emergency Management Presidency Director General Fuat Oktay said on Tuesday Turkey is already home to over 1.6 million refugees and spent some 5 billion U.S. dollars on them.

Turkey is also uneasy over possible emergence of an autonomous Kurdish region in the north of Syria as a prelude to an independent Kurdistan. The secessionist PKK has been fighting with Turkish government for over three decades and some 40,000 people have lost their lives since 1984.

Erdogan on Wednesday accused the U.S. of trying to pave the way for an independent Kurdistan in Syria, saying that the PKK and the PYD are the same and that they are trying to carve out an independent Kurdish state in northern Syria.

"Are you (the U.S.) cracking the door open to allow them (PYD and PKK) to establish a state there?" Erdogan said. "Their goal is to set up a state there... We can not look at this favorably."

In the meantime, the Turkish government also has to cope with an opposition that is not warm to the idea of Turkey hosting the training and equipping program.

Refik Eryilmaz, a lawmaker from the main opposition Republican Peoples' Party, submitted a motion to parliament, questioning the legality of the training and equipping program under Turkish and international law. Enditem