BEIRUT // Turkey reacted angrily on Wednesday to Washington’s decision to arm Syrian Kurdish fighters, saying the move would help bolster terrorists who pose a threat to the Turkish state.
The United States said the plan to arm the Kurdish YPG militia, approved by president Donald Trump on Tuesday, would “ensure a clear victory” over ISIL in the Syrian city of Raqqa – the extremists’ last remaining major stronghold.
But the move will also greatly empower the YPG, vastly increasing the likelihood of an independent Kurdish state or autonomous region after the war and further souring relations with Nato ally Turkey, which considers the Kurdish militia a terrorist organisation.
On Wednesday, the Syrian Democratic Forces, an alliance of Kurdish and Arab fighters dominated by the YPG, said it had fully captured the town of Tabqa and the adjacent dam – the largest in Syria – from ISIL.
That victory, only 40 kilometres from Raqqa and achieved with support from US air strikes and special forces, can only strengthen Washington’s argument that the YPG has been its most effective ally on the ground against ISIL.
But to Turkey, the group is an arm of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), which has been at war with the Turkish state on and off since the 1980s.
Turkish officials, who have long pushed for the US to rely more heavily on Turkey and its Syrian Arab rebel proxies in the battle for Raqqa, were united in their condemnation of Washington’s announcement.
“I hope very much that this mistake will be reversed immediately,” said Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Turkey’s president.
“I will personally express our worries in a detailed way when we talk with president Trump on May 16.”
The issue would also be discussed at the Nato summit in Brussels on May 25, he said.
“We want to believe that our allies would prefer to be side by side with ourselves rather than with the terror groups.”
Prime minister Binali Yildirim said: “Any initiative to support the PKK directly or indirectly is unacceptable for us.”
Turkey’s foreign minister, Mevlut Cavusoglu, said every weapon that ended up in YPG hands was a threat to Turkey, while deputy prime minister Nurettin Canikli told the US that it was “in the same sack as terrorist organisations”.
Washington’s backing of the YPG began in 2014, and has constantly agitated Turkey and driven a wedge between the two allies.
Ankara was publicly optimistic at first when Mr Trump was elected, hoping that his campaign promise of a revamped strategy to combat ISIL would include abandoning Washington’s reliance on Kurdish forces.
But under Mr Trump, the US has instead consolidated its support for the Kurds while trying – as did the previous Obama administration – to reassure Ankara of its intentions.
Although the Tuesday announcement was the first time Washington had stated an intention to give weapons to the YPG, Kurdish fighters in Syria have previously been spotted with American equipment. They also host and fight alongside 900 US soldiers – troops that have recently had to act as human shields along the Syria-Turkey border after Turkish air strikes targeted YPG positions last month.
While the US considers the PKK a terrorist organisation, it has maintained that the YPG is a separate, independent entity. The groups are closely affiliated, however, sharing an ideology – and often combatants.
On Tuesday, the Pentagon said the Syrian Democratic Forces, a YPG-dominated rebel alliance, was “the only force on the ground that can successfully seize Raqqa in the near future”. This was an explicit signal to Turkey that the US was not considering Ankara’s proposal for Turkish forces and rebel proxies – who are, at best, months away from the city – to launch an offensive. Instead, the US was siding with the Kurds.
“We have to be completely real here. The Turkish plan that they proposed, the alternative, was never feasible,” said Aaron Stein, a Turkey expert at the Washington-based Atlantic Council. What delayed America’s decision, he deduced, was “a self-imposed debate in Washington about how to break the news to Turkey, not so much about seriously considering the Turkish plan”.
Despite Turkey’s anger and the apparent impasse over the role of the YPG, US secretary of defence, Gen Jim Mattis, remained optimistic yesterday that Washington could calm Turkey’s nerves.
“We’ll work out any of the concerns,” he said during a visit to Lithuania. “We will work very closely with Turkey in support of their security on their southern border. It’s Europe’s southern border, and we’ll stay closely connected.”
On Tuesday, hours before the US announced it would start arming the YPG, Gen Mattis said Washington would work alongside Turkey to “take Raqqa down”.
Mr Erdogan is scheduled to travel to Washington next week for his first meeting with Mr Trump – a meeting that was expected to be tense even before the US announced it was going to arm Syria’s Kurds.
The YPG, which stands to gain not only weapons but power and greater legitimacy internationally through the deal, welcomed the additional backing from the US.
“The White House’s resolution to officially supply weapons to YPG fighters is rightful, albeit a bit late,” YPG spokesman Redur Xelil said yesterday. “We believe that henceforth, our units will play a more significant, influential and decisive role in the fight against terrorism.”
Bayar Dosky, a professor of political science at the American University of Kurdistan in the Iraqi Kurdish city of Dohuk, said the move could help establish Kurdish independence in Syria and force Turkey to accept the YPG’s presence there. He pointed out that Turkey’s opposition to Iraqi Kurdistan in the past – which included threats of invasion – had eventually waned, with the Kurdistan regional government now an important Turkish partner in the region.
“I don’t think Turkey can do a lot to change American policy in Rojava (the Kurdish area of Syria), at least regarding the YPG,” Mr Dosky said. “They (the US) made up their mind about that. They sent a very strong message to Recep Tayyip Erdogan.”
jwood@thenational.ae
* With additional reporting from Reuters
A MINECRAFT MOVIE
Director: Jared Hess
Starring: Jack Black, Jennifer Coolidge, Jason Momoa
Rating: 3/5
Formula Middle East Calendar (Formula Regional and Formula 4)
Round 1: January 17-19, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 2: January 22-23, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 3: February 7-9, Dubai Autodrome – Dubai
Round 4: February 14-16, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 5: February 25-27, Jeddah Corniche Circuit – Saudi Arabia
The specs: 2017 Dodge Viper SRT
Price, base / as tested Dh460,000
Engine 8.4L V10
Transmission Six-speed manual
Power 645hp @ 6,200rpm
Torque 813Nm @ 5,000rpm
Fuel economy, combined 16.8L / 100km
Results
2pm: Handicap (PA) Dh80,000 1,600m; Winner: AF Al Baher, Bernardo Pinheiro (jockey), Ernst Oertel (trainer).
2.30pm: Handicap (TB) Dh100,000 1,600m; Winner: Talento Puma, Xavier Ziani, Salem bin Ghadayer.
3pm: Handicap (TB) Dh90,000 1,950m; Winner: Tailor’s Row, Royston Ffrench, Salem bin Ghadayer.
3.30pm: Jebel Ali Stakes Listed (TB) Dh500,000 1,950m; Winner: Mark Of Approval, Patrick Cosgrave, Mahmood Hussain.
4pm: Conditions (TB) Dh125,000 1,400m; Winner: Dead-heat Raakez, Jim Crowley, Nicholas Bachalard/Attribution, Xavier Ziani, Salem bin Ghadayer.
4.30pm: Jebel Ali Sprint (TB) Dh500,000 1,000m; Winner: AlKaraama, Antonio Fresu, Musabah Al Muhairi.
5pm: Handicap (TB) Dh100,000 1,200m; Winner: Wafy, Richard Mullen, Satish Seemar.
5.30pm: Handicap (TB) Dh90,000 1,400m; Winner: Cachao, Tadhg O’Shea, Satish Seemar.
Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.
Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.
“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.
“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.
Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.
From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.
Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.
BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.
Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.
Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.
“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.
“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.
“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”
The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”
TOURNAMENT INFO
Women’s World Twenty20 Qualifier
Jul 3- 14, in the Netherlands
The top two teams will qualify to play at the World T20 in the West Indies in November
UAE squad
Humaira Tasneem (captain), Chamani Seneviratne, Subha Srinivasan, Neha Sharma, Kavisha Kumari, Judit Cleetus, Chaya Mughal, Roopa Nagraj, Heena Hotchandani, Namita D’Souza, Ishani Senevirathne, Esha Oza, Nisha Ali, Udeni Kuruppuarachchi
The National Archives, Abu Dhabi
Founded over 50 years ago, the National Archives collects valuable historical material relating to the UAE, and is the oldest and richest archive relating to the Arabian Gulf.
Much of the material can be viewed on line at the Arabian Gulf Digital Archive - https://www.agda.ae/en
The rules on fostering in the UAE
A foster couple or family must:
- be Muslim, Emirati and be residing in the UAE
- not be younger than 25 years old
- not have been convicted of offences or crimes involving moral turpitude
- be free of infectious diseases or psychological and mental disorders
- have the ability to support its members and the foster child financially
- undertake to treat and raise the child in a proper manner and take care of his or her health and well-being
- A single, divorced or widowed Muslim Emirati female, residing in the UAE may apply to foster a child if she is at least 30 years old and able to support the child financially
Name: Peter Dicce
Title: Assistant dean of students and director of athletics
Favourite sport: soccer
Favourite team: Bayern Munich
Favourite player: Franz Beckenbauer
Favourite activity in Abu Dhabi: scuba diving in the Northern Emirates
RACE CARD
6.30pm: Al Maktoum Challenge Round-3 – Group 1 (PA) $65,000 (Dirt) 2,000m
7.05pm: Handicap (TB) $65,000 (Turf) 1,800m
7.40pm: Meydan Classic – Listed (TB) $88,000 (T) 1,600m
8.15pm: Nad Al Sheba Trophy – Group 3 (TB) $195,000 (T) 2,810m
8.50pm: Dubai Millennium Stakes – Group 3 (TB) $130,000 (T) 2,000m
9.25pm: Meydan Challenge – Listed Handicap (TB) $88,000 (T) 1,400m
'Outclassed in Kuwait'
Taleb Alrefai,
HBKU Press
Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
Ms Yang's top tips for parents new to the UAE
- Join parent networks
- Look beyond school fees
- Keep an open mind
Sheikh Zayed's poem
When it is unveiled at Abu Dhabi Art, the Standing Tall exhibition will appear as an interplay of poetry and art. The 100 scarves are 100 fragments surrounding five, figurative, female sculptures, and both sculptures and scarves are hand-embroidered by a group of refugee women artisans, who used the Palestinian cross-stitch embroidery art of tatreez. Fragments of Sheikh Zayed’s poem Your Love is Ruling My Heart, written in Arabic as a love poem to his nation, are embroidered onto both the sculptures and the scarves. Here is the English translation.
Your love is ruling over my heart
Your love is ruling over my heart, even a mountain can’t bear all of it
Woe for my heart of such a love, if it befell it and made it its home
You came on me like a gleaming sun, you are the cure for my soul of its sickness
Be lenient on me, oh tender one, and have mercy on who because of you is in ruins
You are like the Ajeed Al-reem [leader of the gazelle herd] for my country, the source of all of its knowledge
You waddle even when you stand still, with feet white like the blooming of the dates of the palm
Oh, who wishes to deprive me of sleep, the night has ended and I still have not seen you
You are the cure for my sickness and my support, you dried my throat up let me go and damp it
Help me, oh children of mine, for in his love my life will pass me by.
In numbers: PKK’s money network in Europe
Germany: PKK collectors typically bring in $18 million in cash a year – amount has trebled since 2010
Revolutionary tax: Investigators say about $2 million a year raised from ‘tax collection’ around Marseille
Extortion: Gunman convicted in 2023 of demanding $10,000 from Kurdish businessman in Stockholm
Drug trade: PKK income claimed by Turkish anti-drugs force in 2024 to be as high as $500 million a year
Denmark: PKK one of two terrorist groups along with Iranian separatists ASMLA to raise “two-digit million amounts”
Contributions: Hundreds of euros expected from typical Kurdish families and thousands from business owners
TV channel: Kurdish Roj TV accounts frozen and went bankrupt after Denmark fined it more than $1 million over PKK links in 2013
The five pillars of Islam
1. Fasting
2. Prayer
3. Hajj
4. Shahada
5. Zakat
NO OTHER LAND
Director: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham, Rachel Szor, Hamdan Ballal
Stars: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham
Rating: 3.5/5
Off-roading in the UAE: How to checklist
