As the Trump administration moves closer to reducing its military footprint in Syria, Turkey faces a complex landscape of security threats and diplomatic openings. Ankara sees a chance to push back against US-backed Kurdish forces it deems hostile, but it must also navigate potential tensions with Israel, uncertainty over Syria’s political future and the risk of an Islamic State resurgence. 

The Donald Trump administration is set to review a Pentagon proposal in the upcoming days that would reduce the number of US troops in Syria by more than half in the months ahead, Al-Monitor reported, citing three officials familiar with the discussions.

Al-Monitor reported that fewer than half of the estimated 2,000 American troops currently in Syria would remain in the country in order to sustain at least some level of oversight of the prisons in coordination with Kurdish forces, Al-Monitor’s sources said.

The US withdrawal from Syria has long been a demand by Ankara as part of Turkey's pursuit to end an alliance between the Pentagon and US-backed Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces. The SDF’s backbone, the People's Defense Units, is an offshoot of the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK), which has been fighting for Kurdish self-rule inside Turkey for more than 40 years. While Washington considers the PKK a terror outfit, the SDF is the main ally of the Pentagon in the fight against ISIS in Syria.