Turkey and the US are Ready to Train the “Syrian opposition”

• 02.18.2015, 17:34
•  America,  Region,  Near East,  World

The United States and Turkey are ready to sign a memorandum on the program of training and equipping the Syrian opposition. According to RIA Novosti, the Turkish Foreign Ministry Spokesman Tanju Bilgic announced. "In the coming days we will sign a memorandum with the US on training and equipping program of the moderate Syrian opposition. Training is likely to begin in March", - said Tanju Bilgic.

Earlier Turkish media informed about plans of Turkey and the US on training 2000 fighters of the Free Syrian Army in the province of Kirşehir in central Turkey. The United States will provide weapons and ammunition for the equipment of the militants, Turkish military will conduct the training. According to several sources the US is going to train and equip 5,000 militants of the Free Syrian Army, 2000 of them in Turkey annually.

In Washington, State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki confirmed that the Turkish authorities have agreed to provide an area for training bases for the preparation of the Syrian opposition groups which will fight against the "Islamic State". She said a principle agreement was reached with Turkey.  "As we were saying, Turkey has agreed to be one of the countries in the region where the Syrian opposition training and equipping program will be realized", - TASS quotes Psaki’s words. Washington expects that the agreement will soon be signed.

It should be noted that the negotiations between Turkey and the United States on the Syrian opposition training program lasted for a long time. Turkey wanted the US to consider the overthrowing of Syria’s president Bashar al-Assad as a priority and to support the creation of a buffer zone on the Syrian-Turkish border.