ANKARA (Dispatches) – The ultimate outcome of National Security Adviser John Bolton's visit to Turkey was quite predictable, as he did not come to find common ground with the Turkish leadership but to set conditions, Uluc Ozulker, Ankara's former ambassador to France and Libya, told Sputnik.
According to the diplomat, Washington is trying to promote its anti-Iranian policy and to protect the U.S.-backed Kurdish forces operating in the region.
"The meeting between [John] Bolton and [special adviser to the Turkish President] Ibrahim Kalin did not produce tangible results", Ozulker said. "Judging from the Erdogan representative's statement, during the negotiations, both parties limited themselves to expressing concerns but failed to convince each other of the need for mutual concessions on the Manbij issue, the territories east of the Euphrates River, the fight against terrorism in the region, etc."
The former envoy emphasized that "it [was] absolutely clear that the solution to the Syrian problem can only be provided by the three Astana guarantor countries", namely Russia, Turkey and Iran. "Other players, at this moment, do not have sufficient strength and capabilities for this", he said.
John Bolton's 8 January visit to Ankara ended fruitlessly and was accompanied by an exchange of reprimands between the Turkish leader and the U.S. national security adviser. Earlier, on 6 January, while in the Israeli-occupied territories, Bolton stated that the U.S. wouldn't withdraw from Syria unless Turkey ensures the safety of the Syrian Kurdish militia, which is regarded by Ankara as an affiliate of the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), banned in the country.
"Bolton is making a big mistake, his statement is unacceptable. Terrorist organizations do not represent the Kurds," Erdogan emphasized Tuesday, in a reference to the Kurdish People's Protection Units (YPG), the backbone of the U.S.-backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF).
However, the Syrian Kurdish militia is not the only one bone of contention for Washington and Ankara: the two countries have yet to reach compromise on the fate of Fethullah Gulen, the supply of Russian-made S-400 missile systems and the Halkbank trial.
"As of yet, no specific steps have been taken on any of these issues in order to resolve them", the diplomat underscored.