​​​​​​​Astana series ... a black tragedy to legitimize occupation

The series "Astana" continues to materialize the black tragedy written and directed by what the Syrians called, with Trio of the Deals, "Russia, Turkey and Iran" who destroyed the country, displaced the people, falsely claiming their keenness on the interests of the Syrians.

'Political bazaars'

Fifteen rounds were held, starting from January 23-24, 2017, to discuss the Syrians crisis without the attendance of those affected by the crisis, but their results were clear goals, which is the continuation of the Russian-Turkish understandings only.

Successive rounds dominated by the style of political deals and bazaars. Each round of Astana was preceded by a round of escalation on the ground, which the winner would invest in the negotiating table that ended with an exchange of influence in the Syrian regions.

On the ground, the "Astana" series did not yield any results, rather invested them. In its fourth round in May 2017, it came out with the "De-escalation" agreement, to restore the Damascus government forces control over large swathes of Syrian territory, after failing though backed by Russia and Iran.

According to the agreement that covered 4 regions, the mercenary groups affiliated with the Turkish occupation, under the latter's order, stopped fighting on all fronts, when government forces attacked an area, Russia concluded "settlements" that would lead to the transfer of mercenaries and their families to areas under Turkey in northern Syria.

This policy went into force in the countrysides of Damascus, Homs and Aleppo, which were controlled by the Damascus forces, in return, Turkey occupied Afrin, Serêkaniyê and Girê Spi.

Through the Astana series, Russia, helped by Turkey, ended the so-called Syrian opposition, and continued to humiliate it, by filming them transported in green buses.

Although the trio of Astana sought to give these meetings a political character, they were military par excellence and did not solve any of the political and humanitarian issues that were hiding behind these countries as an excuse, most notably the file of political detainees and the so-called Constitutional Committee.

In this context, the academic and political researcher Ibrahim Muslim says: "There have been several previous rounds from Astana, and its sponsors try to replace them with the Geneva conference. Moscow wants to receive the Syrian file, but this costs legitimizing the Turkish and Iranian presence in the Syrian territories."

Muslim added, "The first article of the Astana meetings provides for the unity of the Syrian territories. However, Syria is divided between Moscow, Tehran and Ankara, and Turkey is known to be an occupied country, while Iran considers its presence in Syria with the approval of the Damascus government, but Turkey interfer in Syria through mercenaries classified by most of the countries involved in the international coalition and the United Nations as terrorist groups, in a clear contradiction to their position, while it focuses on Autonomous Administration areas.

He continued: "demanding to keep the unity of the Syrian territories, without addressing the threats by the Turkish state and Iranian intervention, and in this regard, they consider Astana as an alternative to the Geneva Conference."

'actions contradicts words'

The so-termed guarantors, whom Syrians call, "Trio of Deals", were copying their data on previous rounds and claiming sovereignty of the Syrian territories and preserving its wealth and goodness, in addition to attacking the democratic autonomous administration that prevented them from controlling Syria's goods.

On the ground, the reality was completely different. Through "Astana", Turkey occupied large areas of northwestern and northeastern Syria, such as "Afrin, Girê Spî, Serêkaniyê, Idlib, and parts of in countryside of Hama, Latakia and Aleppo."

These areas, as documented by many media outlets and organizations, have become administratively linked with the Turkish states, raising Turkish flags, imposing Turkish currency and opening Turkish schools and colleges.

During the past years, the Turkish occupation and its Syrian mercenaries worked to implement a number of measures aimed at the demographic change in the occupied Syrian areas, such as Jarablus, Al-Bab, Azaz, Afrin, Serêkaniyê and Girê Spî.

The announcement of the so-called Interim Government, at an earlier time, that they are preparing to issue IDs, is one of those measures, in a dangerous step that threatens the Syrian national identity.

And after the demographic change by displacing their original inhabitants and replacing them with thousands of mercenaries' families, especially the Turkmen, raising the Turkish flags, the Turkish occupation-imposed trading in the Turkish currency.

In the last step to strike the foundations of the Syrian identity, the President of the Turkish occupation state, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, issued a presidential decree to open an institute and a college linked with a Turkish university in the occupied Syrian areas.

The Turkish occupation practiced Turkification in Afrin in particular, by removing any Kurdish symbol in the city, changing the names of the main streets and squares and hanging Turkish flags and pictures of Erdogan in official circles, schools and public places.

Media reports said in 2019 that the so-called Afrin Council, affiliated with the mercenaries of the Turkish occupation, is administratively affiliated with the neighboring state of Antakya (Hatay).

'Hostility to NE Syria and Kurds'

The Trio of Deals held the 15th round of their meetings in Sochi over the course of February 16 and 17.

As usual, these countries launched, in the statement of their closing meeting, more accusations against NE Syria and the Kurds.

The countries concluded their statement with scheduling the 16th round of the Astana series in Nur Sultan, the capital of Kazakhstan, this midyear.

The "Syrian Democratic Council" (SDC) rejected the final statement of "Astana 15" through a statement.

 The SDC denounced, the final statement, saying it "has nothing to do with the reality of NE Syria, and the role of the Autonomous Administration."

The statement added: "The SDC condemns what was stated in the Astana statement regarding NE Syria, and considers it prejudice against the Syrians, and distorts the existing facts."

On that, Muslim said: “Practically speaking, this round is a matter of negotiation on how to manage their areas of control, as they discussed the situation in Idlib and the de-escalation areas, and they want to thwart the administration project in all ways."

He added: "The participants in Astana are always negotiating about NE Syria, and we are well aware that the Turkish state is behind this."

'Meetings legalize occupation'

On the purpose of continuing to hold these meetings, Muslim said: "Astana and its participants legitimize themselves to intervene in the Syrian crisis, and thus they want Astana to continue to ensure their presence on the Syrian lands."

He added, "The Turkish intervention in the Syrian territories was green lighted by Russia, and approved by Damascus government, which is acting under Moscow orders, starting with Turkey’s occupation of Afrin to Serêkaniyê and Girê Spî, and all of them agreed on striking the Autonomous Administration project in the region. Accordingly, Astana can be defined." That it legitimized both the Turkish and Iranian occupation."

'They stand behind the suffering of the Syrians'

Muslim touched on the humanitarian situation in Syria, dubbing it as catastrophic, due to the spike of the new Corona pandemic, displacement, and more than a million and a half between the dead and the missing and nearly 7 to 8 million, between displaced, refugees and internally displaced persons, in Syria and abroad. He emphasized that those involved in the Syrian crisis are behind all this.

Muslim concluded his speech by saying: “After the elimination of ISIS by the Syrian Democratic Forces and the International Coalition, the situation stabilized a little, but then the Turkish attacks in the Syrian territories and its occupation of some areas, created in the Damascus government the idea that the military attacks on northern and eastern Syria would weaken the administration. Thus re-controlling these areas."

'Russian circumvention on the political process'

For his part, the Syrian opposition and politician Ali Rahmon said: "The Astana track since its inception has been a determined attempt by Russia to circumvent the UN Security Council Resolution 2254, which seeks to resolve the Syrian crisis."

Regarding the stage that the Astana track has reached, Rahmon said: "Through my briefing of Pedersen before the Security Council, it became clear that the reality of the situation has reached a very critical stage, and consequently to the clogging of the horizon before the Constitutional Committee, and the UN envoy called for the need for serious international intervention and coordination to advance in this file," But, as we mentioned, the path of this committee has become at a very critical stage, and certainly the Syrian regime is the blocking party for all the proposals it has submitted, so the path in its current form has become very difficult, and the horizon is blocked if there is no change in the international push for this file.

 He pointed out that "until now, everything that Pedersen or international groups do is unclear, and this is evidence that the international community is not yet seriously interested in finding the desired political solution for Syria, despite Pedersen's attempts in the recent period through his visit to the Syrian regime, which I believe has launched the bullet of mercy on the negotiation process by refusing to seriously engage with any political process and within any political framework, and this was mainly evident when the regime's foreign minister, Faisal Al-Miqdad, demanded not to interfere in the affairs of the Constitutional Committee and not impose any time frame for its work, in addition to that Al-Miqdad launched a clear attack on the American presence and other irresponsible statements on the part of this minister."

'Occupying countries, not guarantors'

Rahmon spoke about the role of the countries that call themselves "guarantors", saying: "They were never guarantors of the agreements that were agreed upon, each of which tried to work according to its interests and whims, the Russians only concern is to maintain this regime, and the Turks' concern was also to have the upper hand in determining the fate of the Syrians, so Turkey was the biggest winner from this path, as it occupied parts of the Syrian lands, on top of which Afrin is practicing a clear Turkishization process in it. There is now in Serêkaniyê- Ras al-Ain and Girê Spi / Tal Abyad is multiple violations by mercenaries supported by Turkey, which violate all human rights in that region after it displaced more than 250,000 citizens from Tal Abyad and Ras al-Ain, and previously more than that were displaced in Afrin.

He added, "These countries have exploited, through their collusion with each other, to nibble on part of the Syrian lands and occupy it, as Russia has controlled the economic capabilities of this country, and we have noted that there are major economic agreements from investing in the Shaer gas field to the port of Tartus and some oil fields and phosphate mines."

'Lies and a media war on northern and eastern Syria'

Regarding the accusations made by the guarantor states for the regions of northern and eastern Syria, Rahmoun said: “These are false lies. The regime uses the famous Cobbs theory.” Lie, then lie, you must find someone to believe you. Thus, as a result of his weakness and impotence, he practices this demographic policy, and his stance is also in harmony with The Russian position, whereby it tries to regain control of all Syrian lands, and thus has not at any moment dealt seriously with any attempts to solve the Syrian crisis in the political form in question.

He added, "The Syrian regime is trying, through lies, through force and oppression, on the one hand, to regain all Syrian areas under its control, so that the tyranny regime will return to what it was in 2011 and before."

He continued: "The Syrian regime is still importing oil from these areas, in addition to having bought part of the wheat in the region, but as a result of the price difference according to which wheat grains were priced, it refrained from buying the quantities that would suffice for it because the Autonomous Administration had priced the wheat at a higher price, and therefore." I tried to compensate the farmer for his rights and dues, but the system, as we are used to it always and forever, wants to exploit everyone and steal their own pockets, and thus failed to achieve what he was doing before, so he resorts to lies and media demagoguery in order to incite people to this behavior.

 He explained, "If we noticed, as neutrals, that the economic and social life in northern and eastern Syria is better than what is measured in the areas controlled by the regime, as the poverty rate in the areas controlled by the regime is more than ninety percent and the income level is quite clear."

The Syrian opposition and politician Ali Rahmoun concluded his speech by saying: "Those who work to divide Syria are the occupied and guarantor of the Astana track and others, especially Russia, Turkey and Iran, with the approval and participation of the Syrian regime."

(A)

ANHA