![A member of the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), backed by US special forces, holds their flag at the iconic Al-Naim square in Raqa on 17 October, 2017 [BULENT KILIC/AFP/Getty Images]](https://i0.wp.com/d2.middleeastmonitor.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/GettyImages-862299442.jpg?fit=920%2C614&ssl=1)
Saudi and American officials have held talks in Syria’s north-eastern province of Al-Hasakah on Riyadh potentially financing Arab forces backed by the United States (US) and affiliated to the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), local sources reported yesterday.
The sources told Arabi21 that the US support had come under the pretext of “resisting the Iranian expansion attempts in north-eastern Syria.”
The meetings were held in Al-Hasakah’s Al-Khabour Park, where the officials discussed “ways to resist the Iranian expansion attempt in the east of the SDF-controlled region of Euphrates region,” according to the sources.
The move would put Saudi Arabia and the US further at odds with Turkey which classes the SDF as a terrorist organisation because it is an offshoot of the PKK which has carried out attacks against Turkey. The US and EU also recognises the PKK as a terrorist entity, however America continues to arm its affiliates.