US carefully urges ‘de-escalation’ in Syria’ and denounces ‘uncoordinated military action in Iraq’

WASHINGTON DC, United States (Kurdistan24) Late on Monday, the US State Department issued a cautiously worded statement urging calm along the Turkish-Syrian border, as tensions remain high following the bombing of a crowded pedestrian area in downtown Istanbul.

The U.S. expresses sincere condolences for the loss of civilian life in Syria & Turkey. We urge de-escalation in Syria to protect civilian life and support the common goal of defeating ISIS. We continue to oppose any uncoordinated military action in Iraq. https://t.co/42eTcZN0MM

— Ned Price (@StateDeptSpox) November 22, 2022

The statement also expressed US opposition to Turkey’s bombing attacks in the Kurdistan Region. However, in a skillful piece of verbal legerdemain, the statement failed to mention the party carrying out the bombing—i.e. Turkey—or the party being bombed—i.e. Kurds.

The issue behind Washington’s linguistic gymnastics is Russia’s unprovoked war on Ukraine. That has become the most immediate national security priority of the US and its European allies.

Turkey is playing a key role in helping to mediate tensions related to the Ukraine conflict, including the establishment of a mechanism to facilitate grain exports from that county, which are an essential component of world food supplies.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has played his cards skillfully in the crisis, gaining leverage with both the US and Russia on other, unrelated issues.

It is notable, however, that, in this instance, Russia has proved more willing to criticize Turkey’s bombing of Kurdish sites in Syria than the US has been.

Background to Turkish Strikes

Late in the afternoon of Nov. 13, a bomb exploded on a crowded pedestrian avenue in downtown Istanbul. The explosion killed six people, and wounded another 81. It was the first such attack in Turkey in over five years.

Almost immediately, Ankara blamed Turkey’s Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) and the Syrian Kurdish People’s Protection Units (YPG), who form the core of America’s partner force in the fight against ISIS in Syria—the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF.)

Both the PKK and SDF denied involvement, and Ankara produced no real evidence to support its charge.

Nonetheless, very early on Sunday, Turkish military planes bombed what Ankara claimed were PKK targets in northern Syria and Iraq, saying that it had hit 89 such sites.

Most of the strikes were in Syria, and the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR) reported that over 30 people were killed, as a result of the Turkish attack.

The US position—as expressed later on Sunday by Brett McGurk, National Security Council Coordinator for the Middle East and North Africa, who was speaking at the IISS Manama Dialogue--was that Washington had no independent information on who was responsible for the Istanbul bombing.

Following the Turkish attacks, the SDF issued a statement, stating, “These attacks will not remain unanswered,” as it added, “We will respond effectively and efficiently at the right time and place.”

On Monday, five rockets were fired from Syria across the border into Turkey’s Gaziantep province, killing two people. Turkey responded with another round of bombing raids.

Erdogan also threatened a ground offensive into Syria. “There is no question,” he stated, “that this operation be limited to an aerial operation only.”

Speaking to reporters as he returned from Qatar, where he had seen the opening day of the World Cup, Erdogan explained, “Competent authorities, our defense ministry, and chief of staff will together decide the level of force that should be used by our ground forces.”

“We have already warned,” Erdogan said, “that we will make those who violate our territory pay.”

Very Careful US Statement vs. Tougher Russian Statement

“The United States expresses its sincere condolences for the loss of civilian life in Syria and Turkey.” So begins the brief, three-sentence statement issued by State Department Spokesperson Ned Price late on Monday regarding Turkey’s bombing of Kurdish targets in northern Syria and Iraq.

“We urge de-escalation in Syria to protect civilian life and support the common goal of defeating ISIS,” Price continued.

At the Manama Dialogue, McGurk had affirmed the US would continue its military mission in northeast Syria, because “we believe it is essential to ensure ISIS cannot resurge.”

The last sentence of Price’s statement addressed—obliquely—the Turkish attacks early Sunday morning in mountainous areas of Duhok Province in the Kurdistan Region.

“We continue to oppose any uncoordinated military action in Iraq that violates Iraq’s sovereignty,” he said.

Russia addressed this issue—and Russia’s position was significantly stronger than that of the US. As it chanced, on Tuesday, delegations from Russia, Turkey, Iran, Syria, and the Syrian opposition are meeting in the “Astana Format” to discuss the future of Syria.

Iraq, Lebanon, Jordan, and the UN are observers to those talks, which are being held in Astana, the capital of Kazakhstan.

As Russia’s representative, Alexander Lavrentyev, told the Astana group, “We hope to convince our Turkish colleagues to refrain from resorting to excessive use of force on Syrian territory” in order to “avoid the escalation of tensions.”

Read More: Russia calls on Turkey to show ‘restraint’ in Syria

Russia seemed to have no problem expressing what was absent in the US statement: one country—Turkey—had bombed another country—Syria—and those attacks should stop.