US rushes to contain Turkey-backed offensive against SDF in Syria
The Turkish-backed Syrian National Army (SNA) is on the offensive against the Kurdish-led SDF, a US partner force.
The SDF pulled out of the strategic city of Manbij on Wednesday and US Secretary of State Antony Blinken is set to visit Ankara on Friday to contain the Turkish offensive.
But Turkey is looking past the Biden administration, experts tell Middle East Eye and aims to strengthen its position in northeast Syria during Donald Trump’s presidency by undermining the SDF as much as possible.
"There is a sense that the Americans are seeking a grand bargain to resolve the SDF issue. But Blinken and others only have one month left in office, so any deal must be negotiated with the incoming Trump administration. The new Syria increasingly appears united, and autonomy for a few million people in the country seems unlikely," Murat Yesiltas, a senior expert at the Ankara-based think tank Seta, told MEE.