US plans to press Raqqa button after Erdoğan-Trump summit

The United States is mulling over starting the much-anticipated Raqqa operation to defeat the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) immediately after President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan's first in-person meeting with President Donald Trump in mid-May, amid reports that the White House may give a green light for providing weapons to the Syrian Kurds in a more direct way. 

Ahead of the Erdoğan-Trump meeting on May 16, officials covering Turkey in various state institutions in Washington have intensified their work on messages to be delivered to the Turkish government during the talks. 

Erdoğan's spokesperson İbrahim Kalın, who is expected to be appointed as a minister in a cabinet reshuffle at the end of this month.

The Turkish president has suggested that the top issue on the agenda will be the U.S.'s alliance with the Syrian Democratic Union Party (PYD) and its armed wing, the People's Protection Unit (YPG) in the fight against ISIL, particularly ahead of the Raqqa operation. Turkey considers the PYD/YPG to be an affiliate of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) in Syria and has long been pressing the U.S. to cease its cooperation with the group. 

Pentagon's plans unchanged

However, despite the presence of U.S. Secretary of Defense James Mattis, who has been appreciated by Ankara for his acknowledgement on Turkey's sensitivities over the PKK, the Pentagon has not changed its original plans for the liberation of Raqqa from the jihadists. 
 
One recent indication of this was the patrolling of U.S. troops along with PYD/YPG forces in northern Syria after the Turkish military's operation that hit the Syrian Kurdish force's command center in Karaçok province and other targets.