Turkey and Russia back different sides in the Syrian conflict, but they do agree on one thing: the role of the United States in Syria has grown too large. This view accounts for the recent Turkish incursion against US-backed Kurdish militias in Afrin, in northern Syria. As well as taking military action, Turkey’s politicians are now also growing in confidence in speaking out against the US. The country’s deputy prime minister, Bekir Bozdag, is the latest to do so, warning US soldiers in Syria against wearing ‘terrorist uniforms’ of the Kurdish People’s Protection Units (YPG). He went on to say:
‘If US soldiers wear terrorist uniforms or are among the terrorists in the event of an attack against the army then there is not going to be the chance to make a distinction. If they come up against us in such a uniform we will see them as…terrorists.’
The prospect of another bloody clash in Syria is growing, and it is not only Turkey piping up against what is being viewed as a US incursion. Syrian state media also condemned Washington this week, accusing it of supporting ‘terrorists and murderers’ in Syria.
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