Ankara offers new Raqqa plan to US excluding YPG

Turkish Defense Minister Fikri Işık has paid a quick visit to Washington in order to propose a new plan over an operation to liberate Syria's Raqqa from jihadists without making use of Syrian Kurdish People's Protection Unit (YPG) forces. 

Işık came to Washington on the grounds that Ankara's message on the topic was not comprehended well enough by the new government after U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson's visit to Ankara two weeks ago. 

Meeting U.S. Secretary of Defense James Mattis in Washington, Işık put forth a new plan for the liberation of Raqqa from Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) militants that does not comprise the Syrian Kurdish Democratic Union Party (PYD) and its military wing, the YPG, both of which Turkey regards as terrorist organizations due to their ties with the outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK). 

Turkey and the U.S. are at odds over the designation of the YPG and PYD and despite Turkey's efforts to designate the two groups as terrorists, the U.S. sees the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), which is mainly comprised of YPG forces, as effective partners on the ground in their fight against ISIL. 

Speaking at a panel organized by the SETA Foundation for Political, Economic and Social Research after his meeting with Mattis, Işık said the meeting was a "friendly negotiation." 

"We have decided to continue working together on this matters," said Işık, adding that this decision was made after both of the sides made their points to each other. "We will continue this work. Everything will be clear after this work," he said, adding that deciding to continue working was "important." 

Turkey wants Ankara-backed Free Syrian Army (FSA) fighters to be used instead of YPG/PYD forces in a...