With Brunson out of jail, US-Turkey relations still face two major hurdles

Source:Middle East Eye Date:13Oct2018

Turkey and US:  The bluster and reality on the field:

A Turkish security official told MEE that, in the short term, there are no plans for any operations in the area, where around 2,000 US officers are based to train and advise the SDF.

“Whatever Erdogan says, there is a response,” he said. “The deployments…they always come with a result. The joint patrols in Manbij started after he spoke up publicly and raised the question of YPG’s existence in the city.”

Ankara believes that the US is holding on to Manbij as a trump card for eventual political negotiations. “They will easily give up Manbij in return of some oil wells in Deir Ezzor or Raqqa,” he added.

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A Turkish security source told MEE that S-400s might never be pieced together or activated after receiving in order to prevent any confrontation with the NATO systems and the US.