Pentagon: US may stop supporting Kurds in Syria
Pentagon spokesperson Adrian Rankine-Galloway told Turkish news agency Anadolu in an interview that the US will stop supporting the Syrian Kurds’ People’s Protection Units (YPG) if they attempt a military operation in the Afrin region, instead of fighting the Islamic State.
“We are only training and supporting forces who are fighting ISIS. The Pentagon does not give orders to the forces that are active on the ground. If there is an attempt at a military operation not directed against ISIS, they will be deprived of Washington’s support… For example, if a YPG unit in this [north-eastern] region of Syria says that instead of fighting ISIS, it is going to Afrin to support its brethren, then it will remain alone and will no longer be considered one of the US’s partners,” Rankine-Galloway observed.
According to him, this same rule has been applied to developments in the al-Tanf region in the south of Syria.
On January 20, Ankara declared the start of operation Olive Branch against the Kurdish military groups in the Syrian province of Afrin. The US-backed Kurdish groups are considered terrorists by Turkey.
Damascus has decisively condemned Turkey’s actions in Afrin, pointing out that it is an integral part of Syria.