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The U.S. is seeking to eliminate the border between Iraq and Syria and merge the territories invaded by Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) terrorists, which it has deemed its land forces, to exploit underground resources, starting from Iraq’s Kirkuk to Mosul and all the way to Syria’s Raqqa.
Raqqa Local Council Member Ekrem Dede spoke exclusively to Yeni Şafak daily and unveiled the striking details about the U.S.-led energy corridor in the region, stating that American, French and British companies have queued up for the drilling and export of hundreds of billions of dollars’ worth of oil and gas.
He stressed that the number of officials in these oil-rich territories, including private companies, who came to inspect the site in last two months alone has exceeded 400.
“The feasibility studies of the U.S. are currently in progress. In parallel to this project, the number of U.S. officials has been doubled in the last six months in the countryside of Syria’s Hasakah, Raqqa and Deir ez-Zor. A significant number of these figures work in the oil and construction field,” he added.
The number of U.S. diplomats in Syria has doubled as Daesh terrorists near a military defeat, U.S. Defense Secretary Mattis said on Tuesday.The U.S.-led coalition, along with local partners, has largely cleared the militant group from Iraq and Syria but remains concerned about its resurgence."Our diplomats there on the ground have been doubled in number. As we see the military operations becoming less, we will see the diplomatic effort now able to take (root)" Mattis said.He did not give a specific number.A U.S. official, speaking on the condition of anonymity, said Mattis was referring to State Department employees, including diplomats and personnel involved in humanitarian assistance, and the increase was recent.The United States does not have an embassy in Syria.In a sign of the threat still posed by the militant group, security forces in northern Syria’s Raqqa said on Sunday they had uncovered a Daesh sleeper cell which was plotting large attacks across the devastated city.Raqqa served as the de facto capital of Daesh’s self-proclaimed caliphate until it was retaken by the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) militia alliance last October.In June, the SDF imposed a three-day curfew in Raqqa and declared a state of emergency, saying Daesh militants had infiltrated the city and were planning a bombing campaign."We are still in a tough fight, make no mistake about it," Mattis said.He said troops would work after the defeat of Daesh to ensure that the militant group did not return.Russia has held the balance of power in Syria, both on the battlefield and in the U.N.-led peace talks, for the past two years. It has helped Syrian President Bashar al-Assad recover huge amounts of lost territory without persuading him to agree to any political reforms.But nine rounds of talks, most of them in Geneva, have failed to bring the warring sides together to end a conflict that has killed hundreds of thousands of people and driven millions from their homes.The United States has said it will pursue "a strategy of isolation", including sanctions, with its allies if Assad holds up a political process aimed at ending Syria’s seven-year-old war.
Number of US diplomats doubled in Syria: Pentagon chief
Ekrem Dede
“Weapons delivery route to PKK is now being used for oil transfer”
Underlining the alliance between the Kurdistan Workers’ Party ( PKK) terror organization and Washington administration, “U.S.’s oil shipments to the regime refineries in the regions occupied by PKK terrorists have stopped and all the petroleum has been transferred to Iraq. The U.S. is now using the same route for its oil shipment, the one they used for weapons deliveriesy to PKK terrorists in the past. There is a clandestine pipeline in this region that was built in former Iraqi President Saddam Hussein’s era. On the other hand, they will construct an overt oil pipeline in near future in this region,”, Dede said.
US doubles its diplomats in Syria
He also said that France and the U.S. demanded $600 million from Gulf countries for the reconstruction of Raqqa where they took part in its destruction. They seek to undertake both the operation and the construction of the cities they destroyed.
U.S. Defense Secretary Mattis also reported that the number of U.S. diplomats in Syria has doubled under the pretext of fighting Daesh but a specific number is still unknown.
"Our diplomats there on the ground have been doubled in number. As we see the military operations becoming less, we will see the diplomatic effort now able to take (root)," U.S. Defense Secretary Mattis said on Tuesday.
Hicran Kazancı
Establishing peace in the world is possible so long as there is cooperation based on “justice and goodwill,” said Turkey’s parliament speaker on Wednesday. Speaking at the opening of the TRT World Forum, where Anadolu Agency is serving as the global communications partner, Binali Yildirim said: “Realizing a world where everybody lives in peace, tranquility, and trust is possible [so long as] powerful countries forge cooperation based on justice and goodwill.” The fight against terrorism is the primary area in which cooperation is needed, said Yildirim. “Terror [groups] should not be financed by any means; arms and money should not be provided,” he added. Without using its name, Yildirim also blasted the U.S. over its failure to extradite Fetullah Gulen, the U.S.-based leader of the Fetullah Terrorist Organization (FETO). “Everything is clear. He is the one who ordered the coup [attempt in 2016]. We have every kind of document and information but our friends, the country which we know as an ally, stands by idly.”FETO and Gulen orchestrated the defeated coup of July 15, 2016, which left 251 people martyred and nearly 2,200 injured. Turkey has long complained of U.S. slowness in responding to its request for Gulen’s extradition. Yildirim also said that the EU is not active enough in working to tackle international problems. “The EU’s approach to the world’s current problems is far from finding solutions,” he said. The two-day TRT World Forum, entitled “Envisioning Peace and Security in a Fragmented World,” brings together over 600 of the world’s leading opinion leaders, policymakers, academics, and businesspeople. The “most pressing issues and challenges” across the world will be discussed during the two-day event.TRT World Forum kicks off in IstanbulFar-right groups Europe's Daesh: Turkey's ruling party
Justice, goodwill cooperation can fight terror: Parliament Speaker
“US wants to remove the borders”
The Iraqi Turkmen Front's representative in Turkey Hicran Kazancı also evaluated the developments and asserted that the U.S. is seeking autonomy for Kirkuk that is based on separating it first from the central government and later handing it over to the Barzani administration.
He said that the U.S.’s first aim is to abolish the border between Iraq and Syria and create a single zone by merging Raqqa, Hasakah Deir ez- Zor, Kirkuk, Tal afar , Arbil and Sulemaniyah.
Kazancı stated that this initiative is not only political, it also has a covert aim to exploit the underground resources of the region.
Turkey's National Defense Ministry on Tuesday evening said the first batch of U.S. army personnel have arrived in Turkey to join training for a joint patrol activity in Manbij, Syria.A statement on the ministry's official website said efforts to start the training are ongoing."Within this scope, the first group of personnel from the U.S. Armed Forces have arrived in Turkey," the ministry said."Following the completion of training, joint patrols will start," it added.Turkey's Operation Euphrates Shield, which began in August 2016 and ended in March 2017, was aimed at eliminating the terrorist threat along the Turkish border with the use of the Free Syrian Army, backed by Turkish artillery and air cover.On Jan. 20, Turkey launched Operation Olive Branch to remove YPG/PKK and Daesh terrorists from Afrin. On March 18, Turkish troops and the Free Syrian Army liberated the Afrin district center.The patrols are the next phase in the fight against terrorists.
US troops arrive in Turkey for Manbij patrol training