Russia: Regime must take over eastern Syria

Russia’s Foreign Ministry said Wednesday that Moscow expects the Syrian government to take over the areas where U.S. troops are currently deployed following their withdrawal. Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova emphasized that the territories in eastern Syria should be handed over to the Syrian government in line with international law.

She said Moscow is unaware of any details of the planned U.S. withdrawal, but added that the move would help peaceful settlement in Syria if implemented.

“If the troop withdrawal happens, it would have a positive impact on the situation,” Zakharova said at a briefing.

U.S. President Donald Trump abruptly announced the pullout from Syria last week, surprising allies and sparking the resignation of two of his top aides.

The United States backed the Kurdish-led forces in oil-rich eastern Syria for four years in the fight against Daesh (ISIS) militants, and its withdrawal will leave the area up for grabs.

Turkey said Tuesday that it is working with the United States to coordinate the withdrawal of American forces but remains “determined” to clear U.S.-allied Kurdish fighters from Manbij in northeastern Syria.

When asked about Turkey’s plans to launch an attack on the area, Zakharova answered that Russia and Turkey have closely coordinated their actions in Syria – “including military counterterrorist operations” – but the spokeswoman wouldn’t elaborate further.

A representative of Turkey-backed Syrian opposition fighters said Wednesday that his fighters would not accept the return of government forces to areas in eastern Syria, including Manbij town, after U.S. forces withdraw.

Youssef Hammoud, spokesman for the “Syrian National Army” group, which is expected to be a core force in a Turkish campaign in eastern Syria, said Wednesday the return of government forces to the area would trigger “a disaster and a catastrophe” with a new wave of refugees and displaced people.

Hammoud said one main aim of the Turkey-led operation to reclaim eastern Syria is to create the conditions and space for the return of refugees and displaced people who fled the Syrian government.

The SNA said up to 15,000 of its fighters are prepared to enter the areas once the U.S. pulls out.

For weeks, Turkey has been threatening to launch a new offensive against the Kurdish fighters, who partnered with the U.S. to drive Daesh out of much of northern and eastern Syria.

Ankara views the Kurdish forces as terrorists because of their links to an insurgent group inside Turkey.

Turkey-backed Syrian opposition fighters have been moving to the outskirts of Manbij and the Turkish army continues to dispatch tanks, artillery and other equipment to the border and an area administered by Turkey in northwestern Syria, according to Turkish media reports.

Pro-Turkish factions and opposing fighters in the city of Manbij are “consolidating their positions and massing reinforcements on the demarcation line” separating the two sides, said Rami Abdel-Rahman, head of the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.

“Military operations haven’t started – there are no clashes or skirmishes,” he said.

Dozens of pro-Turkish fighters equipped with assault rifles were seen near the city of Jarablus in mud-splattered pickup trucks Tuesday, traveling to join sectors near the demarcation line, an AFP correspondent said.

The situation was calm, he added.

The SNA said Wednesday that it was finalizing preparations for the planned offensive, which Hammoud said would be in line with the “U.S. withdrawal from the region.”

“We await the political agreements between the U.S. and Turkey concerning the withdrawal,” Hammoud said.

The YPG says it has already left Manbij, but Ankara maintains that there has been no pullout of Kurdish forces from the town.

Sherfane Darwish, a spokesman for the Manbij Military Council – a faction affiliated to the Kurdish-Arab Syrian Democratic Forces – has said his forces are on a “state of alert” due to military movements by Turkey and its Syrian rebel allies.

“There is an increased mobilization of reinforcements at the border, and we are monitoring that,” he told AFP.

“Patrols by the [international] coalition are still taking place – nothing has changed. We are ready to repulse any attack,” he said.

Source: Russia: Regime must take over eastern Syria | News , Middle East | THE DAILY STAR