Thomas Barrack, the recently appointed United States Ambassador to Turkey and Special Representative for Syria, gave an exclusive interview to Turkish media channel NTV on Monday. In the interview he discussed the future of Syria in the wake of the lifting of American sanctions on the country, and the necessity of cooperation between the Syrian interim government and the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF).
Barrack was quick to praise Donald Trump and his new administration for their policies in Syria, including the gradual lifting of sanctions on the country, which will greatly alleviate the Syrian economy paralysed by such sanctions under the regime of Bashar al-Assad. He further insisted on the good relations between President Trump and the Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, which he said goes far beyond the basic fact of the NATO alliance binding the countries of which these two men are heads-of-state, respectively.
On Syria, Barrack notably indicated a departure from the foreign policy of the past century, making an implicit reference to his earlier remarks about the failures of the Sykes-Picot agreement of 1916. When asked about US support for the People’s Protection Units (YPG), the SDF’s main component, he reaffirmed the force as an ally and emphasised the importance of aiding their integration into state institutions:
"The SDF is an ally. Support given to the SDF is a support given to an ally. It is a very important factor for our Congress. Directing them towards their integration into a new Syrian government is very, very important."
The envoy noted that all parties must remain “reasonable” in their expectations, and praised Erdoğan for giving the new Syrian regime “a chance”. Notably, he emphasised a gradual withdrawal process of American troops and military bases from Syrian territory as part of Trump’s vision on the future of American-Syrian relations, furthering apparent US conciliation attempts with the new Syrian government.
He specified that the US plans to reduce the number of American military bases in Syria from 8 to 5, and then eventually to 3, with the final goal of maintaining a single base in the Syrian territory.
This step is a result of what Barrack and others have concluded to be a victory against the Islamic State (ISIS) in Syria, with Barrack stating, “President Donald Trump deployed our army in Syria with a single objective, the fight against Da’esh. Our forces have completed 99% of this mission with great success.” This directly contradicts overwhelming evidence of ISIS cells attacking SDF forces and organising within refugee camps.
The emphasis on involving the Syrian interim government in friendly American relations with Gulf States, Israel, and Turkey likewise indicated continued American influence in the region, and even personal ambitions of Barrack’s, who as a billionaire investor has strong business ties in the Gulf region, as does Trump.
Barrack concluded the interview with NTV praising the Turkish military industrial complex, including specific military equipment which has been used by Turkey in cross-border attacks against Kurdish fighters in Syria, Iraq and beyond.
Issuing caution over international diplomacy with Damascus, journalist Amed Dicle recently warned it could “mark the beginning of efforts to contain Kurdish ascendancy within controlled ‘diplomatic parentheses’”.
The rights and autonomy of Kurdish people and other minorities in Syria were not addressed by Barrack in the interview.
