Erdogan Snubs Bolton Over Comments That Turkey Must Protect Kurds

The Y.P.G. is widely seen as the Syrian franchise of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party, the P.K.K., which has been fighting an insurgency against Turkey since the 1980s and is recognized as a terrorist organization by that country, the United States and the European Union.

If it means an end to American support for the Kurds in Syria, Unluhisarcikli said, Turkey is even prepared to accept an end to United States air space in eastern Syrian and to lose NATO air and logistical support.

“If the alternative is continued cooperation with the Y.P.G., they would want them to leave,” he said, describing Turkey’s view of the American presence in Syria.

Turkish officials would be likely to disabuse Washington of some of its expectations in the meetings, he added.

“America will request Turkey’s further cooperation against Daesh,” he said, using the Arabic acronym for the Islamic State. “I am not sure Turkey will deliver.”

Turkish forces have been mustering for an operation into northeastern Syria, but the Turkish military is intent on dealing with the Kurdish militant threat and does not want to extend more than 15 to 20 kilometers, roughly 10 miles, into Syria, Unluhisarcikli said.

The United States would like Turkey to agree not to move against the Y.P.G. and its political branch, the P.Y.D., in the event of an American withdrawal.

“That is a hopeless cause,” Unluhisarcikli said. “It is not a question of whether. Turkey will not tolerate the P.K.K. on its borders. So it is only a matter of time.”

Kurdish representatives in Syria complained that American officials had left them out of talks so far and expressed concern at the conflicting messaging.

“We’re expecting to hear from the Americans soon, but so far they have not involved us in the talks,” said Nasser Haj Mansour, a Kurdish politician and former adviser to the United States-backed Kurdish fighters of the Syrian Democratic Forces. “We are hoping that Turkey would avoid any military action within our borders,” he said.

Newaf Khalil, head of the Europe-based Center for Kurdish Studies, warned that Turkish forces would not listen to American requests not to target Kurdish fighters of the Syrian Democratic Forces.

“The U.S. is saying that the Turks won’t kill the Kurds if they deploy, but definitely they will kill S.D.F. fighters, their families, and many more,’’ he said. ‘‘We’re talking about thousands. There’s a big contradiction in the U.S. statements, and this is not acceptable.”

Turkey supports rebels fighting the Syrian government of President Bashar al-Assad in Syria but opposes groups it considers to be terrorists, including the Islamic State and the Y.P.G. It backs the 30,000-strong Free Syrian Army, renamed the National Liberation Front, which has fought against both the Islamic State and Y.P.G. forces in Afrin.

In his Opinion article, Erdogan called for “a stabilization force featuring fighters from all parts of Syrian society” as a first step to replace the American-backed Syrian Democratic Forces, which are commanded by members of the Y.P.G.

Turkish officials have said their immediate concern is what happens to the United States bases, and the matériel and weapons America has brought into Syria, in the event of a withdrawal.

“There are many issues such as how it is going to happen,” Kalin, the national security adviser and presidential spokesman, said in an interview last week with NTV news channel. “How they will withdraw, what will happen to the bases there, the recollection of the weapons given to P.Y.D./Y.P.G., the type of the relationship with them, the continuation of the struggle against Daesh, avoiding a security void there: We will handle those in those meetings.”

One area where United States and Turkish officials could find some agreement is how to proceed with the Syrian town of Manbij, a strategic crossroads in northern Syria where United States forces have a base and where the local council is dominated by the Kurdish Y.P.G.

Turkey has been threatening to advance on the city, demanding that the Y.P.G. leave and complaining that the United States is dragging its feet in bringing that about. Nevertheless American forces have been conducting joint patrols with Turkish forces around Manbij and a joint working group has finally reached agreement on the criteria for vetting officials to run the local council.

Although slow, the Manbij road map offers a way for the United States to pull out and leave a workable system behind in a string of northern towns along the Turkish border.

“The primary issue is naturally Manbij, the withdrawal of entire P.Y.D./Y.P.G. forces from Manbij,” Kalin said. “Of course it is not only that. It is important for them to withdraw from other Arab cities they have invaded. We will go on negotiating those.”

Turkey would not, however, fill the entire void that a United States departure would leave, Unluhisarcikli said.

Surprise changes in the top of the Turkish military indicate internal disagreement over the Syrian deployment, Metin Gurcan, a military analyst, wrote this week in a column for the news site Al-Monitor.

Two top generals — Gen. Metin Temel, commander of the Second Army, a rising star who commanded the operation in Afrin last spring and is known to be close to Erdogan; and Brig. Gen. Mustafa Barut, commander of the Fourth Commando Brigade — were abruptly removed by presidential decree on Dec. 31 and reassigned to desk jobs in the General Staff.

The demotions appear to be because of differences between them and Defense Minister Hulusi Akar and the chief of staff, Yasar Guler, including over deployments into Syria.

“Temel wants Ankara to have no part in cooperating with the United States in northeast Syria,” Gurcan wrote. “He thinks that because Kurdish forces there get substantial U.S. support and are well equipped and trained, it would be risky to launch a midwinter operation there while relying on confusing and undependable messages from the United States.”

Meanwhile Erdogan will be meeting President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia in coming days, the Turkish media reported.

“The Russians as well are happy about the U.S. withdrawal plan,” Kalin said. Moscow wants the Syrian government to take control of northeastern Syria while Turkey was still holding out for it to be handed to local councils, he said.

“They have such an inclination but they are not insistent on that,” Kalin said of Russia. “We believe that it would be more right to do it with elements of local people.”

Erdogan told reporters after his speech in Parliament that an incursion into Syria might happen “at any moment after the Bolton meetings,’’ the news channel NTV reported. He also added that he might have a phone call with Trump.

Hwaida Saad contributed reporting from Beirut and Karam Shoumali from Berlin.