Any offensive in northern Syria to destabilize region: Pentagon
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The US Department of Defense underlines that it communicated to Turkey to refrain from conducting an offensive in northern Syria.
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Pentagon spokesman Air Force Brig. Gen. Patrick Ryder leaves following a briefing at the Pentagon in Washington, Jan. 17, 2023 (AP Photo)
Any military offensive in northern Syria would lead to regional instability, Pentagon Press Secretary Brigadier General Patrick Ryder said on Tuesday.
The Biden administration has "communicated to Turkey that launching any ground operation into northern Syria would destabilize the region" and hinder the fight against ISIS, Ryder underlined, answering a question by Al Mayadeen correspondent to Washington.
The Pentagon's statement comes as Turkey pushed its reinforcements into its southern borders with Syria.
This comes despite a series of reconciliation efforts to end the decade-long feud between the two countries with the mediation of Moscow and Tehran.
According to Turkish presidential foreign policy adviser Ibrahim Kalin, Russia's mediation in reconciliation efforts does not imply that Turkey has discarded the option of launching a ground offensive.
"A ground operation is possible any time, depending on the level of threats we receive," the official told reporters.
Read next: Turkey may refrain from ground offensive in Syria: Russian diplomat
On December 15, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said he had proposed to Russian President Vladimir Putin a prospective meeting between the presidents of Syria, Turkey, and Russia preceded by a meeting of the chiefs of security apparatuses and defense ministers.
But Syria has so far shown signs of prudence to the peace process when last week, Syrian President Bashar Al-Assad said that any rapprochement with Ankara must lead to the end of the Turkish occupation in Syria.
Moreover, high-ranking Syrian sources told Al Mayadeen on Thursday that "the government of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has electoral goals regarding the rapprochement with the Syrian leadership," and that "Damascus is not interested in offering them this card."
Besides the fact that Turkey illegally controls several parts of northern Syria and has a number of military bases set up in the area, the Turkish government also backs local militias that fight against the Syrian government.
On December 30, Ankara announced its intention to transfer control over the areas where Turkish forces are present in Syria to Damascus if political stability is achieved and indicated the possibility of joint work in the future with the Syrian authorities to combat terrorism.
