Scottish based charity expelled from Turkey

The Ankara-Moscow ties appear to be on the mend these days, after a drastic worsening in November 2015, when a Russian Su-24 bomber was shot down by the Turkish Air Force.

The divisions highlight that the offensive is important not only to push ISIS out of its de facto capital but also because it threatens to inflame the complex dynamic among the groups vying for power within the Syrian civil war. Turkish officials have expressed concern at US plans to enlist the support of YPG fighters in the operation rather than Turkish-backed forces.

The Portland, Oregon-based Mercy Corps said it was “seeking a dialogue” with Turkish authorities to resume operations that constitute one of the largest humanitarian operations for Syria.

A member of the People’s Protection Units (YPG) stands watch at the frontline of Raqqa fights against ISIS a year ago.

Although they are doing heavy lifting in the fighting in Syria, the YPG is considered by Ankara a Syrian cousin of the PKK, or Kurdish Worker’s Party, which is the Turkish government’s bitter domestic enemy. “We know that Mr. President [Recep Tayyip Erdogan -TASS] is fully supporting this”, the Russian leader said. A Pentagon official said, yesterday, that the US troops are in Manbij to “reassure and deter”.

His comments came after Turkey’s Daily Sabah claimed on February 25 that Gen. Joseph Votel, commander of U.S. Central Command, made a “secret trip to northern Syria”.

Turkish regime forces shelled Syrian army and allied forces positions near the northern city of Manbij leaving a number of martyrs and wounded, a Syrian military source told the Military Media Center on Thursday.

The YPG and local militia forces in Manbij say the YPG subsequently left the city, though Turkey says that is not true. With the U.S. -Russian presence outside the city, the Turks seem to be backing down. “The Department of Defense is not coordinating military operations with Russian military in Syria”.

Senior U.S. military officials and the Obama administration past year discussed establishing a new channel for communicating with Russian Federation about Syria, but Defense Secretary Ashton Carter opted to not make any change at the time.

The Turkish Prime Minister, Binali Yildirim, said the meetings would continue on Wednesday. “We remain hopeful that the government of Turkey will allow us to return to serve those in critical need”, it added.

But the U.S. has been pushing the SDF to fight towards Raqqa, Isis’ de-facto capital, which would prevent a hugely symbolic victory for the side that manages to retake the city.

But on Monday, Ankara stepped back from that threat, saying it would not act without cooperation from Russian Federation and the United States.

Turkey sees the lack of action against Gulen as a symptom of a broader problem: that many of Turkey’s allies, including the United States, do not take seriously the threats Turkey perceives to be posed by Gulen and the Kurds.