Roundup: Turkey not satisfied with U.S. statements, preparing for assault against Syria

ANKARA, Jan. 18 (Xinhua) -- Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said Thursday that his country was not satisfied with recent statements from the United States on grievances regarding the Syrian crisis and that the army was preparing for an assault against a Kurdish enclave there.

"We are not entirely satisfied or convinced about that," he said in an interview with CNN Turk news channel, referring to the remarks made by his American counterpart.

U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson on Wednesday said that the U.S. owes Turkey an explanation and does not have any intention to build a Syria-Turkey border force, saying the issue had been "misportrayed."

"That entire situation has been misportrayed, misdescribed. Some people misspoke. We are not creating a border security force at all," he said aboard his aircraft taking him back to Washington from Canada, where he hosted a meeting on North Korea. The U.S. is taking Turkey's concerns regarding Syria "seriously," Tillerson said.

Turkish Prime Minister Binali Yildirim also complained on Thursday from "inconsistent statements" from the U.S., saying that Washington has to eliminate the confusion and stand by Turkey.

These comments came in the wake of Ankara's harsh criticism of a U.S. plan to form a 30,000-strong army led by the Democratic Union Party (PYD) and its armed-wing People's Protection Units (YPG), the Kurdish militia militarily supported by the Pentagon but that Turkey considers as terrorist organizations linked to the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) waging a four-decade insurgency inside Turkey.

The U.S. and the European Union consider the PKK as a terrorist organization. The YPG, however, is the main component of the U.S.-backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), which also includes Arabs. The SDF has been at the forefront of the fight against the Islamic State (IS).

Russia, who is militarily present in Syria to back government forces and the Damascus regime, also condemned the U.S. move as a violation of Syria's sovereignty.

Cavusoglu made it clear on Thursday that Tillerson's statements "will not delay" an assault, seen as imminent against the YPG in northwest Syria, in the Afrin region, where it is mainly concentrated.

"U.S. support for YPG terror army (so-called border security force) will cause irreversible damage to relations with Turkey," he warned on Thursday, adding that Turkey is "in contact with Russia and Iran upon air space" regarding possible operation in Syria's Afrin.

Turkey's recently established observation posts in de-escalation zone in Idlib province also overlook Afrin, where Russia has an observation force, and controls the region's air space.

General Hulusi Akar, Turkish chief of staff, went to Moscow Thursday morning in order to meet with his Russian counterpart Valery Gerasimov to discuss Turkey's grievances and seek a Russian green light, reported at the same time the Turkish press, without giving further details.

Turkey's Intelligence chief Hakan Fidan also went to Moscow with General Akar.

Cavusoglu called on in this context the Russian leadership not to oppose a possible Turkish offensive against the YPG.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has angrily warned in recent days of an imminent offensive against the Kurdish-held territories. Military convoys have moved towards the border with Afrin this week and the Turkish artillery has shelled YPG positions there. The shelling continued on Thursday.

Turkey's National Security Council said in a statement after a four-hour meeting on Wednesday evening that Turkey will act "swiftly and with determination" to eliminate threats posed by a "terrorist army."

Just hours before, Deputy Prime Minister and Government Spokesman Bekir Bozdag told reporters after a cabinet meeting that the U.S.-backed force posed a threat to Turkey's national security, territorial integrity and the safety of its citizens.

"Turkey has reached the limits of its patience, nobody should expect Turkey to show more patience," he said.

Experts agree that Turkey will refrain to take unilateral action in Syria without some kind of a Russian approval, which does not seem to be concluded so far, thus explaining the top Turkish military official's visit to Moscow.

"Turkey could launch a limited offensive with Russia's green light. Otherwise, the cost would be high both politically and militarily," told Xinhua Oytun Organ, Syria researcher at the Ankara-based think tank ORSAM.

But he also underlined that if Moscow didn't give a green light, it would mean that Turkey wants to take the initiative, without waiting for consent from Russia, which would then be a show of determination and strength from Ankara to Moscow. Enditem