U.S. and Turkish officials spent a second day sorting through a series of events that culminated with the shootdown of an armed Turkish drone by American F-16 fighter jets after the unmanned aerial vehicle got too close to U.S. forces in northeastern Syria.
Turkey's Ministry of Foreign Affairs issued a statement Friday formally admitting the drone in question belonged to Ankara and was being used in operations against the Kurdistan Workers' Party, or PKK, as well as its offshoots in and around Hasakah.
“One UCAV [unmanned combat aerial vehicle] was lost due to different technical assessments in the deconfliction mechanism with third parties,” according to the statement.
“Necessary measures are being taken to ensure a more effective operation of the deconfliction mechanism with the relevant parties,” it said.
Pentagon officials first confirmed the shootdown of the Turkish drone Thursday, saying the decision to fire on the drone was made after repeated attempts by U.S. forces on the ground to communicate with their Turkish counterparts.
Brigadier General Patrick Ryder, the Pentagon press secretary, called the incident “regrettable” but defended the decision.
“Based on the observation of airstrikes being conducted and the fact that this drone was upwards of nearly half a kilometer from U.S. forces, U.S. commanders made the determination that it was a self-defense threat,” he said. “Appropriate action was taken.”
Following the shootdown of the Turkish drone, both U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin and Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman General CQ Brown spoke by phone with their Turkish counterparts to ease tensions.
High-level talks continued Friday, with the U.S. State Department announcing that Secretary of State Antony Blinken had spoken with Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan and had "highlighted the need to coordinate and deconflict our activities."
A separate statement Friday from the U.S.-led coalition in Syria appeared to take a harsher tone, suggesting U.S. troops had been put at risk more than once. The coalition is tasked with clearing out the remnants of the Islamic State terror group, also known as IS, ISIS or Daesh.
"Over the past 24 hours, multiple uncoordinated airstrikes were conducted in close proximity of U.S. forces in Syria," it said. "We oppose actions which threaten regional stability and security; jeopardize the safety of our forces, partner forces and the civilian population; and distract from our shared commitment to the enduring defeat of Daesh."
Both Ankara and Washington view the PKK as a terror organization. But Turkey views the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces, or SDF, as an extension of the PKK, while the U.S. has supported the SDF as a key partner in the fight against Islamic State.
"There is an obvious undeniable clash on national interests in Syria between Turkey and the United States," retired Turkish Brigadier General Haldun Solmazturk told VOA.
"This clash has to be resolved somehow. Otherwise, it will lead to an inevitable further clash between the two countries," he added.
Retired Ambassador James Jeffrey, who previously served as the special representative for Syria engagement and special envoy for the Global Coalition to Defeat ISIS, said the situation has been tenuous for some time, pointing to Turkey's ground incursion into northern Syria in 2019.
"It's obviously an option, it's obviously a concern," Jeffrey told VOA. "But I don't think a ground incursion at the moment appears to be too likely.
"Turkey's escalation is meant to send a signal back to the PKK … that it can hold its assets in Syria, where it is running whole communities and areas, at risk," he said.
In its statement Friday, Turkey's Ministry of Foreign Affairs said Ankara's operations against PKK targets and infrastructure would continue.
The U.S. downing of the Turkish drone "has in no way affected the execution of the ongoing operations and the striking of identified targets," the ministry said. "All capabilities and sources of income developed by the terrorist organization in Syria will continue to be systematically eliminated."
