Russian-Turkish clash over Kurds in Syria

NEWS DESK

Russian-Turkish talks

This week, the British newspaper "The Times" published a topic entitled "Russian-Turkish clash over the fate of the Kurds."

The newspaper said, "The clash appears to have become a reality after Russian President Vladimir Putin rejected the idea of establishing a buffer zone in northern Syria to preserve the southern border of Turkey and keep Kurdish forces away from them."

The newspaper added, " The Russian rejection came during the visit of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan to Moscow and supported the idea of US President Donald Trump establishment of the buffer zone under Turkish supervision, adding that the dispute reflected the statements of Erdogan and Putin after their meeting in Moscow since after the meeting between Erdogan and Putin, the Turkish president went to confirm the determination of his country "to cleanse northern Syria not only fighters of the Islamic State Organization, but also fighters of Kurdish People Protection Units," noting that Putin called for a joint dialogue between Turkey and the Kurds and Damascus.

The newspaper added: "It is clear that after two years of attempts at rapprochement between Turkey and Russia on the Syrian issue, the dispute remains overwhelming, especially in light of Moscow's support for the Syrian regime and the right to regain sovereignty over the Kurdish areas in northern Syria, in accordance with the mutual understanding signed between Syria and Turkey in 1998 with regard to the existence of the Kurds."

Presidents of Russia and Turkey discuss the situation in Syria

The Wall Street newspaper said "Erdogan is increasingly going to Putin as President Donald Trump prepares to withdraw his troops from northern Syria."

The Russian president and his Turkish counterpart discussed how to divide control of northern Syria when US troops leave, highlighting Washington's declining position on Syrian affairs.

The newspaper added, "The discussions in Moscow between Vladimir Putin and Recep Tayyip Erdogan are diplomatic minefields because Russia and Turkey have been on the opposite sides of the Syrian civil war for eight years. Moscow supports the Assad regime and Ankara supports mercenary gangs."

A close meeting of the "Troika" on the Syrian crisis

In a related context, the "Izvestia" Russian newspaper said, "a summit of the Russian-Turkish-Iranian tripartite will be held soon in Russia which will discuss the ways to get out of the Syrian crisis.

It added, "The date for the meeting will be announced after the agreement with Tehran, which was made by Vladimir Putin and Recep Tayyip Erdogan after yesterday's talks in the Kremlin during the final press conference of the two presidents."

The newspaper noted, "The problems faced by the" Tri-Astana "were about to form a constitutional committee where it turned out that Britain, Germany and France had already prevented the formation of the commission, yet media representatives were particularly interested in whether the leaders of the two countries reached an agreement on the Syrian issue in the context of withdrawal of US troops from the region."

The journalists hoped to receive comments on three main topics, what is the situation in the escalation zone in Idlib, when the constitutional committee will be established? Finally, will Turkey achieve a buffer zone in northern Syria?

A.H

ANHA