Ankara encourages Washington not to waive sanctions for SDF
WASHINGTON, USA (North Press) – Turkey is pressing the Biden administration to ensure the areas held by the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) are not granted special exemptions to Caesar Syrian Civilian Protection Act, under the pretext that it would strengthen the Autonomous Administration (AANES) in the region, an informed source told North Press on Sunday.
In late February, American sources told North Press that the Biden administration was willing to issue a decision that would exempt the SDF and opposition-held areas from the Caesar Act.
“The draft of the act was ready and about to be announced by the US Department of Treasury but Turkey, backed by the Syrian opposition lobbies in Washington, intervened to prevent this step from taking place,” the North Press informed source said.
According to a second source close to the opposition lobbies in Washington, the Syrian opposition prefer “not to have a special exemption from the sanctions regarding its areas in Aleppo countryside in case this decision would mean a similar exemption for the investors and private companies in the AANES-held areas.”
“Turkey and the Turkish-backed opposition believe that the open borders between the opposition areas in Aleppo countryside and Turkey enable the latter, as a big country, to secure all the needs of the northwest (the opposition areas),” he added.
As a result, “the exemption from the sanctions will not change the political or economic equation for them (the Turkish-backed opposition), and this is why they push Biden not to make such a decision, which will have the greatest positive impact on northeastern Syria,” the source clarified.
“Syrian (opposition) lobbies in Washington are asking the administration not to make such a decision, under the pretext that the SDF will help the Syrian regime to benefit from the exemption, and therefore the Caesar act will be of little value,” according to the source.
Last month, Syria’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates condemned the Biden administration’s willingness to exempt some areas in northeast and northwest Syria from the Cesar Act.
The informed source told North Press that the war on Ukraine and the change in the American-Turkish relationship gave Turkey a bigger margin to impose its terms on Washington regarding this issue.
The Biden administration has lately announced a set of decisions in an attempt to repair the deteriorating relationship with Ankara.
Reuters cited the US Department of State last week as saying that the Biden administration believes a potential sale of F-16 fighter jets to Turkey would be in line with US national security interests and would also serve NATO’s long-term unity.
This step comes after Washington abstained for years to sell any weapons to Turkey after Ankara acquired the Russian-made S-400 defense missile systems.
In October, Turkey made a request to the US to buy 40 Lockheed Martin-made F-16 fighters and nearly 80 modernization kits for its existing warplanes.