What do Kurds expect from Trump?

Turkey’s Kurds are calling on US President-elect Donald Trump to follow up on the remarks he made in his July 21 interview with The New York Times: “It would be ideal if we could get them [Kurds and Turks] all together.”

What policy he plans to follow on Turkey-Kurdish relations is a matter of intense curiosity in the region.

For the moment, the only clue Turkey’s Kurds have to assess Trump’s intentions is what he said in that interview: “I’m a big fan of the Kurdish forces. At the same time, I think we have a potentially — we could have a potentially very successful relationship with Turkey. And it would be really wonderful if we could put them somehow both together.”

Which Kurds does Trump adore so much? No doubt, he is talking about the Syrian Kurds of the People’s Protection Units and the Women’s Protection Units, who fearlessly took on, with the support of the international coalition, the Islamic State (IS). What we don’t know is if Trump has the same sentiment about Turkey’s Kurds. There are undeniable links between the Kurdish movement in Turkey and the Syrian Kurds Trump admires. Naturally, this admiration will influence his attitude toward Turkey’s Kurds.