Turkish officials may be feeling that they’ve “lost a golden opportunity” to destroy the YPG/PKK enclaves in Syria after the Assad government’s sudden collapse in December, hence the string of reports of a Turkish military buildup on the Syrian border in possible preparation for a large-scale offensive, Ankara Baskent University international relations professor Hasan Unal told Sputnik.
Until now, Ankara may have hoped that the provisional government in Damascus would “deal with the problem” of the Kurds independently, according to Unal. “But whether HTS would be willing to do the job that Turkiye would like to see done is a major question,” he said.
The issue is especially acute as the outgoing US administration continues its buildup of support for the Kurds, the academic argued.
If Turkish forces cross the border in the coming days, the “objective” would basically be to present Donald Trump with a “fait accompli,” either before or shortly after he takes office, forcing him to commit to pulling US troops out of the country. This is something he’s hinted at anyway in recent weeks by referring to Turkiye’s role 'as the main player over Syria’s future,'" Unal recalled.
A full-scale Turkish military operation would force Washington to “basically reassess” the Syrian situation, especially as with the fall of Assad, the main reason for backing the Kurds has all but disappeared, the observer said.
“Given that Syria is no longer a threat to Israel, why would the United States and Israel try to carve out a Kurdish state in the Middle East?” Unal summed up.