Blinken Visits Turkey, Discusses Gaza Ceasefire... "Confirmed Encouraging Signal"

U.S. Secretary of State Tony Blinken visited T?rkiye to discuss a ceasefire plan for the Gaza Strip and responses to the Syria situation.

Tony Blinken, U.S. Secretary of State / Photo by Yonhap News

On the evening of the 12th (local time), Secretary Blinken crossed from Jordan into T?rkiye and met with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdo?an. On the 13th, he held talks with Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan.

At a joint press conference with Minister Fidan that day, Blinken said, "We discussed the possibility of a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip" and added, "In recent weeks, we have seen encouraging signs that this is possible."

He stated that he asked T?rkiye to use its influence to get Hamas to agree to a ceasefire, saying, "I told them that it is essential for Hamas to say 'yes' in negotiations to end the conflict." He added, "We highly appreciate T?rkiye raising its voice with Hamas and playing a role in ending the conflict."

The Biden administration, whose term ends on the 20th of next month, is accelerating the Gaza ceasefire negotiations by sending Jake Sullivan, U.S. National Security Advisor, to Israel simultaneously with Secretary Blinken's visit.

Meanwhile, regarding the situation in Syria, Secretary Blinken said, "The U.S. has worked hard to eliminate ISIS's caliphate territory and to prevent the threat from reemerging," adding, "It is essential that we continue these efforts." He also mentioned broad agreement between the U.S. and T?rkiye on their expectations for Syria after the removal of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.

In this context, Minister Fidan stated, "Our priorities include ensuring Syria stabilizes as soon as possible, preventing the expansion of terrorist forces, and stopping ISIS and the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) from taking control of Syria," placing the PKK on the same level as ISIS.

President Erdo?an also said in a statement after meeting Secretary Blinken the previous day, "T?rkiye will not allow any weakness in the fight against ISIS." He emphasized, "We will take preventive measures against all terrorist organizations active in Syria that pose a threat to T?rkiye, including the PKK, the Democratic Union Party (PYD), the People's Protection Units (YPG), and ISIS."

T?rkiye has continued military operations in northern Syria and Iraq, where the PKK, a Kurdish separatist armed group designated as a terrorist organization, is based. During the Syrian civil war, T?rkiye supported some rebel groups to check the PKK. The PKK is listed as a terrorist organization by the U.S., the European Union (EU), and others. T?rkiye also classifies the YPG as affiliated with the PKK.