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Erdogan Says Will 'Clear Terrorists' From Syria Border if Sochi Deal Fails

Jeff Seldin

   WASHINGTON - Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said Saturday his
   nation's military would "clear terrorists" from its border in northern
   Syria if the Kurdish YPG militia does not leave by the deadline agreed
   upon by Turkey and Russia earlier this week.

   The deadline of 1500 GMT Tuesday was determined in a deal agreed upon
   by Erdogan and Russian President Vladimir Putin in the Black Sea report
   of Sochi. Russia said its military police and Syrian border guards
   would "facilitate the removal" of the Kurds from within 30 kilometers
   of the border.

   Ankara contends the YPG is a terrorist group and has been vehemently
   critical of U.S. backing of the militia, which was instrumental under
   the Syrian Democratic Forces, in the fight against Islamic State.
   Erdogan also admonished the international security to get behind
   Turkey's initiative to establish a "safe zone" for the more than 3.5
   million Syrian refugees now residing in Turkey.

   The Turkish leader threatened that "if there is no support for the
   projects we are developing for between 1 and 2 million in the first
   stage for their return, we will have no option but to open our doors,
   and let them go to Europe."

   The United States, meanwhile, will bolster its forces currently
   protecting oil fields and facilities in eastern Syria from the Islamic
   State terror group, even as most of its troops are being pulled from
   the country.

   "We are now taking some actions; I'm not going to get into the details,
   to strengthen our position at Deir el-Zour, to ensure we can deny ISIS
   access to the oil fields," U.S. Defense Secretary Mark Esper told
   reporters Friday, using an acronym for the group. He spoke following a
   series of meetings with NATO allies in Brussels.

   "We want to make sure that they don't have access to the resources that
   may allow them to strike within the region, to strike Europe, to strike
   the United States," he said. "It will include some mechanized forces."

   The U.S. had been keeping about 1,000 special forces in northeastern
   Syria, working extensively with the mainly Kurdish Syrian Democratic
   Forces, as part of the U.S.-led effort to deal a lasting defeat to IS.

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