Turkey, U.S. Sign Deal to Train, Equip Syria Rebels
إقرأ هذا الخبر بالعربية
The United States and Turkey on Thursday signed a deal to train and equip Syrian rebel forces, officials said.
"Turkey and the United States signed a document a short time ago on the train-and-equip (program)," Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu told reporters.
A U.S. embassy spokesman confirmed that the deal was inked in Ankara by Turkish Foreign Ministry Undersecretary Feridun Sinirlioglu and U.S. ambassador to Turkey John Bass.
The announcement puts an end to months of difficult negotiations between the NATO allies on how to train Syrian rebel forces and which enemy they should focus on.
Turkey, a vocal critic of Syrian President Bashar Assad, wants moderate rebels factions to be trained to battle both the regime in Damascus as well as the Islamic State (IS) insurgents who have seized large chunks of territory in Iraq and Syria right up to the Turkish border.
Washington, whose aircraft target IS positions in Syria, wants to train the rebel forces as part of its fight against IS.
The U.S. government hopes the program can begin by late March, so the first trained rebel forces can be operational by year's end, according to the Pentagon.
The goal is to train more than 5,000 Syrians in the first year of the program.
19 February 2015, 22:50
62
By the time they get into implementing the program, we will be speaking Persian.
19 February 2015, 23:29
63
Speakfreely, the anti-IS coalition is responsible for fighting ISIS, and the war is starting to turn in the coalition's favour as the Kurds have overrun dozens of villages. But regarding the Syrian rebels, Assad is not a partner to any solution. He is the reason for all the terrorism in the country in the first place. A moderate rebel force needs to be strengthened to fight Assad while the international coalition continues to bomb Daesh.
19 February 2015, 23:55
61
Assad needs Deash to be strong, because they are a diversion to the real war. When/if Daesh is defeated, the entire world's attention will turn on Assad, and the moderate rebels will receive even more support. The anti-ISIS coalition might even evolve into an anti-Assad coalition. As long as Daesh is around, Bashar will be around because Daesh justifies his fake war on terrorism.
20 February 2015, 00:00
61
The only reason Assad hasn't been removed is because the West cannot find another leader who will ensure Israel's security. Who knows, maybe someone from the exiled leadership will emerge as that person. But until then, the West will continue to let Assad stay in power.
20 February 2015, 11:02
20
Go America! Drop bombs and Grow Beards, that's the recipe for heaven!
