Is it a verbal maneuver to soothe western minds? Or is there more behind it? The government in Ankara wants to return the territory controlled by Turkish soldiers to Syria, but gives conditions.
According to Russian sources, 34,000 Kurdish YPG fighters left northern Syria with their weapons
The Kurdish YPG militia has withdrawn from northern Syria, and Turkish soldiers control parts of the region. But that should - if you believe the government in Ankara - in the long term not stay that way. If the Syrian government is able to protect its territory and fight "terrorist organizations," "I think all areas should be returned to Damascus," said Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu in Geneva. He added that Turkey "cleaned" the regions in northern Syria from both the Kurdish militia YPG and the Islamic State (IS) militia.
Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu wants to "never again" see Kurdish YPG fighters in northern Syria
Turkish troops launched a military offensive on 9 October against the Kurdish YPG units , which considers Ankara a terrorist because of its proximity to the Kurdish PKK rebels in Turkey. For the US, however, the YPG-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) were an important partner in the fight against IS.
Finally, the Kurdish forces were given six days to withdraw completely from northern Syria. Even before the deadline on Tuesday evening, all YPG units were deducted, as the Russian Ministry of Defense announced. Now Syrian border troops and the Russian military police had taken control. It was also said that the Kurds had withdrawn a total of 34,000 men from the 30-kilometer-long buffer zone along the border with Turkey. In addition, they had taken 3000 weapons and military technology.
Russian military police escort withdrawing YPG units
Cavusoglu commented on the statements from Moscow that Russian partners must be believed, but if YPG fighters were to appear in the area in the future, they would be killed. Fahrettin Altun, Communications Director of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan tweeted: "We will see through joint patrols whether the terrorists have actually withdrawn or not." Russia, as the protective power of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, and the leadership in Ankara last week agreed to jointly control northern Syrian border areas with Turkey.
More than 100,000 people in northern Syria on the run
The humanitarian situation in northern Syria remains devastating, according to the World Food Program (WFP). "Many people had to flee and leave all their belongings behind." Above all, they would need food, medicines, cloakroom and other necessities of daily use, explained WFP spokesman Hervé Verhoosel in Geneva. Of the 180,000 residents who had been displaced after the Turkish invasion, 106,000 were further on the run. The aid organization has since provided food to more than 300,000 people in the region.
Syrians displaced by the Turkish offensive in a refugee camp in Mosul, northern Iraq
Syrian Constitutional Committee meets for the first time
But there is also a small ray of hope in all the misery: Eight and a half years after the beginning of the war in Syria, government and opposition are now at the negotiating table for the first time. Together with representatives of civil society and with the support of the United Nations, both sides plan to work on a new constitution in Geneva this Wednesday . There are 50 representatives of the government, the opposition and civil society in the constitutional committee.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov hopes for a political solution to the Syrian conflict
Russia, Turkey and Iran see this as a great opportunity for a return to a political process in the civil war country. "There is no military solution to the Syrian crisis," Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov reiterated in Geneva following a meeting with his colleagues from Turkey and Iran, Cavusoglu and Mohammed Jawad Sarif.
During the war in Syria, more than 400,000 people were killed and millions were displaced. Large parts of the country are destroyed.
Post a Comment