Ankara struggles to maintain bearings in Kobani
The Turkish government has been compelled to change track under US pressure and the need to undo the international perception that Turkey supports the Islamic State.
Relations between two major NATO allies, the United States and Turkey, have suddenly assumed a new dimension over Kobani. The last phase of the Kobani crisis has been tragic for Turkey. While Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu gave the impression that he was in favor of heeding the Kurds who were demanding a corridor for military and humanitarian assistance, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan continued to rattle them by alleging that the Democratic Union Party (PYD), the most powerful Kurdish Syrian political actor, and its military arm, the People's Defense Units (YPG), were terrorist organizations.
On Oct. 18, on his way back from Afghanistan, Erdogan told journalists accompanying him, “Something is going around nowadays. To give weapons support to PYD and with those arms open a new front against [the Islamic State] there? OK, fine, but for us at the moment, the PYD is the same as the [Kurdistan Workers Party] PKK. It, too, is a terror organization. Support for it from our NATO ally America would be very, very wrong. We cannot say yes to such a move.”
For the president, the situation was clear. The PYD was a terror organization and one could never give it weapons. But very recently, Turkish officials received Salih Muslim, co-chair of the organization that Erdogan defines as terrorist, and discussed the situation with him. Meanwhile, the US approach was totally contrary to Turkey’s position. Muslim, who met with US Special Envoy to Syria Daniel Rubinstein in Paris on Oct. 12 and on Oct. 18 in Dahuk, met with US Deputy National Security Adviser Tony Blinken and his delegation. Muslim told the Americans that the PYD was ready to fight the Islamic State (IS) beyond Kobani. This was an important commitment for the United States, which is still searching for a ground force to fight IS.
Erdogan learned about this change in the US approach 20 minutes after his plane landed in Istanbul, in a phone call from President Barack Obama. Obama informed Erdogan about the weapons assistance to Kobani. Erdogan’s press adviser said, “Erdogan and Obama have agreed to continue with their close cooperation to reinforce the joint struggle against IS.” Shortly after the call, at dawn, three US C-13s airdropped 27 loads of weapons, ammunition and medical supplies west of Kobani. A few hours after the US Central Command confirmed the operation, Turkey’s intransigence cracked at another point. Kurdish Rudaw TV reported that the Turkish government had agreed to the request of Kurdistan Regional Government President Massoud Barzani to open a corridor and send peshmerga forces to Kobani. This was followed by a statement from Turkey’s Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu, who said, "We are helping to support the transfer of peshmerga forces to Kobani."
