US pullout in Syria leaves questions for Turkey: expert

By Servet Gunerigok</p> <p>WASHINGTON (AA) – The U.S. withdrawal from Syria leaves questions for Turkey, the head of the Foundation for Political, Economic and Social Research (SETA) said Thursday. </p> <p>Burhanettin Duran said queries regarding the controversial troop pullout plan and its aftermath in Syria needed answers. </p> <p>&quot;What is the plan of the U.S.? Endgame in Syria? What would be future of Syrian refugees? What will be the future of some proxy non-state actors? And what about the future of [Bashar] al-Assad regime?&quot; Duran told a panel at the think tank's branch in Washington. &quot;All of these questions are not properly answered by the decision of the withdrawal.&quot;</p> <p>U.S. President Donald Trump made the unexpected decision in December to withdraw all 2,000 U.S. troops from Syria, drawing criticism from many allies and security aides, including his own Cabinet.</p> <p>Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has since said Turkey is ready to assume a counterterrorism role in the war-raveged country after the withdrawal. </p> <p>&quot;The U.S. has a chance to work with Turkey at least to provide some answers to all of these unanswered questions,&quot; said Duran.</p> <p>The U.S. insistence on protecting PYD/YPG, the Syrian branch of the PKK terror group, is making the possibility of working together difficult, said Duran. </p> <p>&quot;But Manbij [roadmap] is significant for making this clear that U.S. and Turkey will cooperate in Syria,&quot; he added. </p> <p>Turkey vowed to carry out a counterterror operation in Syria, east of the Euphrates, following two similar successful operations since 2016.</p> <p>The Manbij deal between Turkey and the U.S. focuses on the withdrawal of YPG/PKK terrorists from the city to stabilize the region, which is located in the northern part of Syria’s Aleppo province.</p> <p>