Offensive in northern Syria: "Better with Assad than alone against Erdogan"

SPIEGEL: The Turks' offensive in northern Syria has been going on for a week - the operation is directed against the Kurdish YPG. What is the strategy of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan against the militia?

Gürbey: Erdogan sees in the YPG an offshoot of the banned Kurdish workers' party PKK. He wants to destroy the PKK and prevent a strengthening of the Kurds as a whole. In his own country he proceeds with political and military repressions against Kurds. Basically, the offensive is a continuation of this strategy of violence - with the aim of destroying Kurdish self-government. So far he has succeeded.

SPIEGEL: Now the YPG has concluded a pact with Syria's dictator Bashar al-Assad. Why?

Gürbey: The Kurds are on their own, in an asymmetrical war they will not and can not win. They know that too. The failure of Western aid has led them to turn to Assad.

SPIEGEL: However, the Kurds themselves spoke of a "painful compromise". What do you hope for?

Gürbey: The kind of self-government that they now have can not be maintained under Assad in this form. However, they prefer to act with Assad rather than alone against Erdogan.

SPIEGEL: US President Donald Trump advised his former Kurdish ally to retreat on the weekend. Would such a scenario be realistic?

Gürbey: No. That would mean that the Kurds would clear the way for the Turkish occupation of the entire region. It would also mean accepting that the Kurdish population and other minorities in the region would be harassed and expelled.

SPIEGEL: Already, ethnic cleansing is feared.

Gürbey: In Afrin, 200,000 Kurds were displaced last year - and Islamist militia settled with their families. The same fate awaits the Kurds in northern Syria when Erdogan succeeds. The demographic change of the region to the detriment of the Kurds is a key objective.

SPIEGEL: Which strategy are the Kurds pursuing now?

Gürbey: You are in a very difficult situation and depend on the regional riparian states, many of which are anti-Kurdish. They do not have that many options. Your room for maneuver is very limited. And it would be politically and strategically exaggerated to expect too much from the Kurds.

SPIEGEL: How surprising was the withdrawal of the US troops? Trump had previously announced that he wanted to bring his soldiers home.

Gürbey: There have already been negotiations between the US and Turkey and the YPG. The Kurds had already withdrawn a bit. In that sense, they were always aware of the danger of an invasion, that it was so fast now, was nevertheless surprising.

SPIEGEL: Internationally, Erdogan's actions are heavily criticized. In Turkey, only the HDP has opposed the offensive.

Gürbey: This is where Turkish nationalism manifests itself in its extreme version, but also in its normality and anti-Kurdish basis. When it comes to the Kurds, there is a single agenda. The opposition has always supported marches of this kind, so why should not they do that now?

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SPIEGEL: What does that mean for the relationship between Kurds and Turks in the country?

Gürbey: The relationship is tense anyway, in times of violence that is even more noticeable. Spontaneous riots can not be ruled out. Domestically, this is a tightrope walk. However, inside there is state repression especially against the Kurds, against critics of the offensive is rigorously proceeded.