Foreign policy roundup: "Netherlands withdraws its ambassador from Turkey after negotiations with Ankara fail...

From a soldier’s funeral. Turkish army’s Afrin operation continues… via @bahattinyucel

Netherlands withdraws its ambassador from Turkey after negotiations with Ankara fail

The Netherlands and Turkey have suspended negotiations for the normalization of bilateral relations, with the former officially announcing the withdrawal of its ambassador to Turkey, who has already been absent for more than 10 months since tension erupted between the two countries last year.

Turkey-Netherlands row: Dutch ambassador withdrawn

BBC News | Europe | World Edition

Diplomatic relations plunge to new lows, as the Dutch ambassador is formally withdrawn

Videos of Syrian Militia Abusing Kurdish Fighter’s Corpse Stir Outrage

NYT > Turkey by By ROD NORDLAND

“She’s beautiful, man,” a Syrian fighter says of the partly naked body in the video. The Free Syrian Army has ordered an investigation.

Syria war: Outcry over dead female Kurdish fighter

BBC News | Europe | World Edition

Kurds in Syria reacted furiously to a video showing Turkey-backed rebels abusing the body of a woman they killed.

Dutch government formally withdraws Turkish ambassador over 2017 row

The Dutch Foreign Ministry on Feb. 5 said it had formally withdrawn its ambassador to Turkey, who has been physically barred from the country for almost a year, over a dispute that began during March 2017.

Turkish tank in Afrin ‘might have been hit by Russian-made anti tank weapon Konkurs’

The antitank weaponry used in the attack against a Turkish army tank on Feb. 3 in Sheikh Haruz, northeast of Afrin, might have been a Russian-made 9M113 Konkurs, security sources told daily Hürriyet on Feb. 5.

Syrian Kurds outraged over mutilation of female fighter

World news: Turkey | guardian.co.uk by Agence France-Presse in Afrin

Turkish-backed rebels accused of filming mistreatment of Women’s Protection Units member

Syrian Kurds have accused Turkish-backed rebels of mutilating then filming the body of one of their female fighters after a video emerged of her corpse.

After Turkey’s anger, France’s Macron plays down Syria warning

French President Emmanuel Macron has played down cautionary remarks he made about Turkey’s operation against the People’s Protection Units (YPG) in northern Syria following a strong reaction from after.

Turkey dismisses French remarks on Syria campaign as ‘insults,’ calls Europeans ‘two-faced’

Turkey has dismissed France’s cautionary remarks about its military operation in Syria’s northern district of Afrin as “insults.”

Kurds and Their Allies in Syria Count On Promises of U.S. Support

NYT > Turkey by By ROD NORDLAND

A reporter’s visit to the front line in Manbij, Syria, found that Kurdish rebels’ fears of a Turkish advance have been dispelled by American military assurances of support.

Erdoğan: Purpose of Afrin Operation is to Send Syrians Home

Bianet :: English

Speaking in Amasya after Çorum, Erdoğan has detailed his previous statement: “We have 20 martyrs in total. Seven of them are our soldiers”.

Former Turkish opposition MP resigns as Socialist International vice president over Afrin statement

Former main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) deputy Umut Oran has resigned as vice president of the Socialist International (SI) after the worldwide organization of social democratic, socialist and labor parties warned of a “humanitarian catastrophe” as a result of Turkey’s ongoing military operation in Afrin in northern Syria.

On Turkey’s Border with Syria, I Found People Keen for War

NYT > Turkey by By CARLOTTA GALL

After a rocket attack, townspeople say Turkey’s president should have started his offensive sooner against Kurdish militants.

US needs to withdraw from Syria’s Manbij region immediately: Turkish FM

Hurriyet Daily News

The United States needs to withdraw from northern Syria’s Manbij region immediately, Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu said on Jan. 27.

Female Kurdish Fighter Kills Turkish Troops in Likely Suicide Bombing in Syria

NYT > Turkey by By ROD NORDLAND

The Kurdish bomber, 20, fought for a part of the Syrian Democratic Forces, an important ally of the United States military in the battle against the Islamic State.

Turkey’s attack on Syrian Kurds could overturn the entire region | Gareth Stansfield

World news: Turkey | guardian.co.uk by Gareth Stansfield

The new front is not just a local conflict: it could lead to a broader Kurdish revolt that redraws the map. The west must finally decide what it wants to achieve in the Middle East or other players will benefitIn whichever state they live, the Kurds endure a perilous existence. In Iran, the Kurdish people of the west have suffered significant persecution at the hands of the Islamic republic, while in Iraq, the Kurds of the north were confronted with a well-organised military operation. They also faced a diplomatic initiative that illustrated that, even in the fractious world of Middle East politics, Kurdish aspirations can manage to unify Iraq, Iran and Turkey in common opposition, following the independence referendum.

Syrian rebels gamble on Turkish alliance to fight Kurds and Assad

World news: Turkey | guardian.co.uk by Kareem Shaheen in Hatay