Tillerson walks a tightrope in trip to mend US ties with Turkey

US secretary of state's visit aimed to reassure a key ally while resisting pressure over Washington's support to its arch foe in the fight against ISIL.

US secretary of state Rex Tillerson shakes hands with Turkish foreign minister Mevlut Cavusoglu in Ankara on March 30, 2017. Adem Altan / AFP

BEIRUT // Rookie US secretary of state Rex Tillerson travelled to Ankara on Thursday for talks with the leaders of a Nato ally that is crucial to the fight against ISIL, but which has also been suspicious of – and at times hostile to – Washington.

Mr Tillerson went to the Turkish capital not only to talk about ISIL, but also to try to repair a relationship that has been severely damaged by US support for the Kurdish YPG militia in Syria as well as Washington’s refusal to arrest and extradite Fethullah Gulen, the exiled Turkish cleric who Ankara blames for a failed coup attempt last July.

At a joint press conference on Thursday afternoon, Turkish foreign minister Mevlut Cavusoglu appeared optimistic that the Trump administration would take “concrete steps” to improve relations with Turkey by backing off support for the YPG and handing over Mr Gulen.

“We are expecting a better cooperation,” said Mr Cavusoglu. “It is not correct to fight against one terrorist group while cooperating with the other.”

He added that the United States had admitted there “is no difference” between the YPG and PKK. When a reporter asked Mr Tillerson if this was true he avoided the question.

The YPG has been the best US ally on the ground in Syria, but the Turkish government considers it an arm of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), the Kurdish militant group that Ankara is at war with at home.

But despite Mr Cavusoglu’s optimism, there have been no signs yet that the US under president Donald Trump intends to ditch the YPG as the battle for ISIL’s capital of Raqqa looms.

If anything, the US has appeared to give even more importance to the YPG, dispatching 400 US marines and army rangers to YPG-held territory in Syria this month. Washington is reportedly considering sending more troops, while the YPG-dominated Syrian Democratic Forces are still believed to have a role in the coming assault on Raqqa.

Mr Tillerson dodged several questions about continuing US support for the YPG, saying instead that he and Turkish officials had had “an exchange of views on the best way forward” in Syria that was “very helpful” to both parties.

The top US diplomat did acknowledge, however, that there were “difficult decisions” to be made in the fight against ISIL.

​While the Trump administration’s policy on Syria’s war between rebels and president Bashar Al Assad has been vague so far, Mr Tillerson said on Thursday that the fate of Mr Al Assad would “be decided by the Syrian people”.

Under the administration of former US president Barack Obama, Washington’s line was that Mr Al Assad must be removed from power.

Mr Tillerson’s visit came a day after Turkey declared the “successful” completion of its Euphrates Shield operation in northern Syria. The operation, which began last August, involved Turkish troops backing Syrian rebel proxies fighting to dislodge ISIL and YPG forces from its border with Syria.

Although Turkish prime minister Binali Yildirim said the operation was completed, he did not say whether Turkish forces were withdrawing from Syria, and left the door open to future military action by saying that new operations in the country, if needed, would bear a different name.

“Syrians in Turkey have returned. Life is back to normal. Everything is under control,” he said late on Wednesday. “That means the Euphrates Shield is over and any potential actions, if necessary, will be named differently.”

But it seems unlikely Turkey will choose to withdraw its troops at this point. Ankara still wants to take part in the offensive to retake Raqqa, though it has been insistent that the YPG be excluded from such a mission. And withdrawing troops would leave Turkey’s rebel proxies on the ground more open to attack from the YPG and potentially Syrian government forces.

The Turkish presence in Syria has added to the complexity of the war against ISIL and seen two crucial US allies – Turkey and the YPG – fighting one another.

Both Turkey and the YPG have asked the US to abandon the other, but Washington relies heavily on both. Turkey’s Incirlik airbase is used by US forces bombing ISIL, and without the YPG, Washington would have no powerful local ally on the ground in Syria.