Sputnik: Recently, the US announced the creation of a 30,000-strong border security force comprising Kurdish YPG faction in order to prevent resurgence of Daesh. How necessary was this move and why Turkey was so infuriated with the US decision?
Asli Aydintasbas: Well as you know Turkey considers YPG an extension of PKK, [blacklisted by Ankara as a terrorist organization], and while there was a peace process in Turkey between the government of Turkey and that PKK that wasn't a problem.
But that peace process broke down in 2015 and since then, Turkey's main focus in Syria, in fact its entire Syrian policy, has been about curbing the influence and limiting this physical space for YPG.
Here in this country this goes back to the break-up of the Ottoman Empire exactly to the Versailles Treaty of 1919. But here in this country the fear that Turkey will be divided and carved up by imperial powers is very real and alive.
READ MORE: Tillerson: US Never Gave Heavy Arms to Kurd-Led Militia YPG
Maybe only a former empire can understand this fear but I think it's at the back of lot of decision and decision-makers, at the back of their mind.
I think that the recent event, [namely] the Pentagon's announcement that they were establishing a border security force felt in Ankara like institutionalizing the alliance with YPG, formation of the military, in other words, splitting the sovereignty in Syria, perhaps establishing a statelet.
Hear more about the topic in this edition of our Weekend Special with Asli Aydintasbas.
The views expressed in this article are solely those of the speaker and do not necessarily reflect the official position of Sputnik.
