The U.S. troops’ presence in Syria is preventing terrorism inside Turkey, Chris Kilford, a retired Canadian Air Defence Officer and former Defence Attache to Turkey and Azerbaijan said.
As long as the U.S. stays in eastern Syria, Syrian Kurdish People's Protection Units (YPG) realise that they cannot trade problems with Turkey, Kilford said, speaking to retired U.S. diplomat Edward Stafford for Ahval’s Anatolian Dispatch podcast.
“It’s kind of ironic that Turkey is yelling at the Americans because they’re supporting the YPG in Syria but at the same time the U.S. is dampening down the situation in Turkey because the YPG know that launching attacks to Turkey in this time is not a good strategy for their long-term survivability,” he said.