Turkish Prime Minister: A New Era of Relations with the New U.S. Government Has Begun

Turkey's state news agency has quoted the country's Prime Minister stating that "a new era of relations with the new government of the United States has begun." Recep Tayyip Erdoğan also mentioned that the Turkish army will remove the city of Manbij in Syria from Kurdish control. The remarks attributed to Binali Yıldırım were made following a meeting with U.S. Vice President Mike Pence during the Munich Security Conference. After the conference, Pence traveled to Brussels to meet with EU and NATO leaders. Relations between Ankara and Washington experienced many ups and downs during Barack Obama's presidency; the U.S. supports mainly Kurdish militia groups in the Syrian battles, while Turkey considers those militias linked to the People's Protection Units as a "terrorist group." On the other hand, Ankara has insisted on the extradition of Fethullah Gülen, Erdoğan's critic, which the U.S. government has refrained from doing. Meanwhile, the situation in northern Syria, the advances of the "Syrian Democratic Forces" towards Raqqa, and Ankara's demands for military operations by its army and allies to retake Raqqa from the group known as the "Islamic State" continue to raise questions about U.S.-Turkey relations. The Turkish newspaper Sabah reported last week that the country's president stated, "Ankara's next target after al-Bab (a city attacked by Turkish allied forces and its army) is Manbij." Last summer, this Syrian city was liberated from ISIS control and came under the control of Kurdish militias. The "Syrian Democratic Forces," which are mainly composed of Kurds, are advancing towards Raqqa and recently announced that the Donald Trump administration has promised more support for this group. This comes as the Turkish Prime Minister spoke about the possibility of Turkish forces participating in the liberation of Raqqa. The newspaper Hurriyet reported that Binali Yıldırım responded to the question of what Turkey would do if the Trump administration attempted to liberate Raqqa with the help of the People's Protection Units, stating, "I did not get such a feeling [from the conversation with the U.S. Vice President]; they are still assessing the situation. We will have to see what the outcome will be." Four days ago, on February 18, the Turkish Prime Minister also stated that his country would be present during the liberation of Raqqa from ISIS control "even if not directly." The day after that, Erdoğan said that if an agreement is reached with the U.S. and the anti-ISIS coalition, Turkey will remove the "Islamic State" elements from Raqqa. The Turkish army and its supported militias are currently involved in the operation known as "Euphrates Shield" in northern Syria, engaging with both ISIS fighters and Kurdish militias.