A phone call with U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken on December 28, Turkish Foreign Affairs Minister Hakan Fidan reiterated that Turkey seeks to “eliminate” the American-backed SDF. Fidan emphasized that Turkey “will not allow PKK to take shelter” in Syria. Turkey equates the SDF in its entirety to the PKK. This phone call happened as Turkey continued to signal a possible incursion into Syria or a Turkish-backed operation in northern Syria to “eliminate” the SDF. In the face of that, the SDF has tried to preempt a Turkish invasion by declaring the border town of Kobani a demilitarized zone and urging the PKK to withdraw eastward to their base in the Qandil mountains of Iraq.The Turkish desire to eliminate the SDF stands in sharp contrast with the U.S. desire to preserve the SDF, which plays a key role in the US counter-ISIS mission. And a reminder that Turkey and the US are NATO partners.