Turkish FM: Turkey Would Support Assad Against Kurdish SDF

Says military operation could begin any time

In a TV interview once again emphasizing a Syria operation could happen at any time, Turkish FM Mevlut Cavosoglu reported Turkey was willing to ally with the Assad government against the Kurdish SDF.

That brings Turkey’s involvement in Syria full circle. Early in the Syrian Civil Warm Turkey broke with Assad and backed the Sunni rebels, reasoning they’d be more anti-Kurd if they won.

They didn’t win though, and as Turkey moved against the Kurds with rebel-backed offensives, they naturally aligned with the Assad government, and both sides are preparing to resist Turkey.

Cavusoglu’s comments suggest Turkey is having second thoughts at the path they went down, and would rather fight the Kurds without them having any allies. Syria almost certainly isn’t going to take the bait there, and if Turkey was a valuable ally pre-war, at this point they’d be far too fickle to re-align with.

Author: Jason Ditz

Jason Ditz is Senior Editor for Antiwar.com. He has 20 years of experience in foreign policy research and his work has appeared in The American Conservative, Responsible Statecraft, Forbes, Toronto Star, Minneapolis Star-Tribune, Providence Journal, Washington Times, and the Detroit Free Press.