White House says Turkey is 'undermining' fight against ISIS in northern Syria

ByNews Desk- The Cradle 

The frosty relationship between Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Joe Biden continues to deteriorate

An official statement by the White House has criticized the Turkish government for “undermining” the fight against ISIS.

On 6 October, US President Joe Biden renewed the Trump-era Executive Order 13894 for an additional year – legislation that gives the government national emergency powers in dealing with Syria.

“The situation in and in relation to Syria, and in particular the actions by the Government of Turkey to conduct a military offensive into northeast Syria, undermines the campaign to defeat the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria, or ISIS, endangers civilians, and further threatens to undermine the peace, security, and stability in the region, and continues to pose an unusual and extraordinary threat to the national security and foreign policy of the United States,” the White House statement read.

Over the past several years, Turkey has maintained a strong military presence in northeast Syria, targeting groups affiliated with the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK), an organization Ankara considers to be a terrorist group.

The news comes just weeks after Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan was snubbed by Biden during his trip to the US for the 76th meeting of the UN General Assembly.

Before his departure from New York, Erdogan told reporters that relations with the US had not had “a good start” since Biden’s arrival to the White House.

“My wish is to have friendly and not hostile relations” with the United States, the state news agency Anadolu quoted Erdogan as saying on the sidelines of the UN general assembly in New York.

“But the way things are going between two NATO allies is currently not too auspicious,” adding that his relationship with former presidents George W. Bush, Barack Obama and Donald Trump had “worked well.”

Following his fruitless visit to the US, Erdogan then met with Russian President Vladimir Putin who has been pushing for Turkey to implement a 2020 agreement that calls for Syria’s Idlib governorate to be turned into a “de-escalation zone.”

Since then, Russian troops have intensified airstrikes across rebel-controlled northern Syria, in particular targeting armed groups supported by Ankara.