US Secretary Of State Emphasizes The Importance Of Eradicating ISIS Syria After The Fall Of The Assad Regime

ILLUSTRATION/PHOTO via Wikimedia Commons

JAKARTA - United States (US) Foreign Minister Antony Blinken and Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan discussed ongoing efforts to fight the rise of ISIS in Syria after the fall of Bashar-al Assad.

"Our country is working very hard and has provided a lot of things over the years to ensure the removal of the ISIS caliphate region, to ensure that threats do not appear again, and it is imperative for us to continue making these efforts," Blinken said. , Friday, December 13.

Talks also focused on an important aspect in building stability in Syria clashes in the north of the country between US-backed Kurdish forces and Turkish-backed rebels.

Fidan said after the meeting, Turkey's priority in Syria was to ensure stability as soon as possible. To prevent terrorism from spreading and to prevent ISIS and PKK from dominating there,' he said.

"We discussed in detail what we can do about this, what our common concern is, and what solutions we must take together," added Fidan.

NATO allies, Washington and Ankara, supported Syrian rebels during the 13-year civil war, but their interests clashed when it comes to one of the Syrian Democratic Forces' rebel factions led by Kurdish.

SDF is a key ally in the US coalition against ISIS militants. The group is spearheaded by the People's Protection Unit (YPG), which Ankara considers an extension of the militant Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) which has been banned and has been fighting the Turkish state for 40 years.

Blinken, who met Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan late Thursday, also said there was a broad deal on what Turkey and the US wanted to see in Syria after Assad's fall.

Earlier this week, Turkish-backed troops seized the northern city of Manbij from the US-backed SDF, which then headed east of the Eufrat River.