Kurdish Democratic Union Party (PYD)

Ankara continues to rule out any place for the Kurdish Democratic Union Party (PYD) and its militia the People’s Protection Units (YPG) in any solution process in Syria, President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has stated, after Turkey, Iran and Russia convened for a key summit in the Black Sea resort of Sochi on Nov. 22.

Russia has issued a stern warning to U.S. forces and their allies in Syria, saying it has deployed Russian special forces alongside Syrian government troops in the battle for the oil-rich Deir el-Zour province and that Moscow would retaliate if the Russians come under fire.

Seven people were detained in the Turkish province of Sanliurfa on suspicion of having links with the "Islamic State" (IS) terrorist group, the province's police said Sept. 12, AzerNews reported.

Three detainees are citizens of Syria. They are suspected of recruiting Syrians.

The rest of the detainees are Turkish nationals.

U.S.-backed Syrian forces battling the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) pushed closer to the Old City in the jihadist stronghold of Raqqa on June 12, a monitor said.

The Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) entered Raqqa for the first time almost a week ago, after months of battle to encircle the city.

Turkey's drift from the Western alliance is going to be very painful, and there seems to be no light at the end of the tunnel. As the West has started to perceive Turkey truly as a failing state, the country's rulers have started to feel freer to express their hostility (past and present) toward the West. 

An "international plot" is being conducted against Turkey, Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) leader Devlet Bahçeli has suggested, asking for a "yes" vote in the upcoming referendum for the constitutional amendment to "disperse the global powers."

Turkey has two concrete expectations about the USA related to the Islamic cleric Fethullah Gülen and the Kurdish rebels in Syria, reported BGNES.

The commando brigade was not fighting in the field when 14 of its members were killed and 55 of them, six of them seriously, were injured in the Central Anatolian town of Kayseri on Dec. 17. Just one week before, our hearts were bleeding for the victims of the terror attack in Istanbul's Beşiktaş. 

Ankara is closely following reports of a planned operation by the U.S.-backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) in the northern Syrian town of Manbij, held by fighters of the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), Turkish military officials have stated, expressing readiness to shell Syrian Kurdish forces in the event of a violation of "Turkey's red line."

The U.S. on March 2 called on the Kurdish Democratic Union Party (PYD) in Syria to not support the outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) in Turkey.      

Addressing Turkish concerns about links between the PYD and its armed wing - the People's Protection Unit (YPG) - and the PKK, U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Anthony Blinken said Turkey's cooperation was "vital" in Syria.