Turkey-Us Train-equip Program For Syrian Opposition To Kick Off March 1

Turkey and the United States will begin training and equipping moderate Syrian opposition fighters on March 1 within the framework of a Feb. 19 agreement signed by the two countries, Ankara has announced.

"I can say that it will begin as of March 1" Turkish Foreign Ministry spokesperson Tanju Bilgiç briefly told reporters at a press conference on Feb. 27.

According to the memorandum of understanding (MoU) sealed by U.S. Ambassador to Ankara John Bass and Foreign Ministry Undersecretary Feridun Sinirlioğlu, Ankara will provide an equal number of trainers to work alongside their American military counterparts.

Hours before the signing of the MoU, Turkey's Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu suggested Syrian opposition groups to be trained and equipped by the joint U.S.-Turkey program will also fight against the Syrian regime.

The trained Syrian opposition members are "expected to fight against the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant [ISIL] and elements of the [Syrian] regime" Çavuşoğlu said Feb. 19 to answer whether the program also aims to struggle against Syrian regime forces. Turkey and the U.S. were on the same page on this issue, Çavuşoğlu said.

More recently, as of Feb. 25, EU Minister Volkan Bozkır stated that the use of regionally strategic İncirlik Air Base as part of the international campaign against the extremist jihadists in Syria depends on the results yielded by the train-and-equip program.

Bozkır reiterated Turkey's demand to establish a secure zone for Syrian immigrants, as well as the moderate troops who undertake the train and equip program, and recalled the formation of a no-fly zone for the protection of that particular area inside Syria. "The use of İncirlik alone or as part of the international campaign depends on obtaining these results" he said. - Istanbul