Let YPG keep US weapons
US commanders planning for the withdrawal of US troops from Syria are recommending that Kurdish fighters battling Islamic State be allowed to keep US-supplied weapons, four US officials said, a move that would likely anger Nato ally Turkey.
Three of the officials, speaking on the condition of anonymity, said the recommendations were part of discussions on a draft plan by the US military. It is unclear what the Pentagon will ultimately recommend to the White House.
Discussions are still at an early stage inside the Pentagon and no decision has yet been made, the officials said. The plan will then be presented to the White House in the coming days with US President Donald Trump making the final decision.
Trump last week abruptly ordered a complete withdrawal of US troops from Syria, drawing widespread criticism and prompting Defense Secretary Jim Mattis' resignation.
The US officials said Trump's announcement has upset US commanders, who view his decision as a betrayal of the Kurdish YPG militia, which has led the fight to eradicate Islamic State from northeastern Syria.
Ankara views the YPG as an extension of a Kurdish insurgency inside Turkey and threatened to launch an offensive against the YPG.
The proposal to leave US-supplied weapons with the YPG, which could include anti-tank missiles, armored vehicles and mortars, would reassure Kurdish allies that they were not being abandoned.
But Turkey wants the United States to take the weapons back, so the commanders' recommendation, if confirmed, could complicate Trump's plan to allow Turkey to finish off the fight against Islamic State inside Syria.
The Pentagon keeps records of the weapons it has supplied to the YPG and their chain of custody.
Meanwhile, Russia and Turkey yesterday agreed to coordinate ground operations in Syria after last week's shock announcement of a US military withdrawal, Moscow's top diplomat said.
"Of course we paid special attention to new circumstances which appeared in connection with the announced US military pullout," Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said after talks with Turkish counterpart Mevlut Cavusoglu in Moscow.
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