“The Biden administration is determined to keep US forces in the east of Syria, and they need a local partner. The YPG has been that partner for the Americans for the past decade,” Ford has stated.
The Biden administration is aware that Turkey is not pleased with the United States’ partnership with the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) but the White House is not going to change their stance, according to former United States Ambassador to Syria, Robert Ford.
“Support for the YPG [the People’s Defense Units, the primary component of the SDF] will continue. The Biden administration is determined to keep US forces in the east of Syria, and they need a local partner. The YPG has been that partner for the Americans for the past decade,” Ford has stated.
Ford’s remarks came in an interview with Turkey’s state-run Anadolu Agency on Tuesday.
Ford also shared his insights on the recent proposal in the Senate, put forward by Republican Senator Rand Paul, advocating for the withdrawal of US troops from Syria. The proposal was ultimately rejected, with 84 senators opposing it and 13 supporting it.
“This vote indicates that there is still strong political support for the US military presence in the east of Syria,” Ford remarked.
He further highlighted the recent conflict in the Deir ez-Zor province in Kurdish-led North and East Syria, where he says the Islamic State (ISIS) is taking advantage of the tensions between the SDF, the Syrian government, and Iran-backed militants.
The US sent troops to Syria in 2014 as part of its campaign against ISIS. Following the liberation of the last ISIS stronghold in Syria by the SDF with the support of international partners in 2019, US forces and SDF fighters have continued to conduct joint operations against ISIS cells in North and East Syria to ensure a lasting defeat of the fundamentalist group.
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