The proposal for a safe zone in northern Syria exposed a newfound split among Turkey and Russia after Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov suggested that the Russian military would be deployed in the area to do policing.
The latest bout of the debate broke out after Lavrov came up with a new proposal that would likely stir up opposition in Ankara. Lavrov’s suggestion followed remarks by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan who, on Saturday, stated that any safe zone along Turkey’s border with Syria must be controlled by Turkey.
“If there is a safe zone along with our border,” Erdogan said, “then it must be under our control,” he spoke about the issue in a televised interview appeared on CNN Turk.
“It is important for us that the U.S. decision to withdraw from Syria does not lead to developments against the interests of our countries and Syria’s political unity and territorial integrity,” he added.
But on Sunday, Moscow stepped in and rejected Erdogan’s remarks. Lavrov, quoted by Russian news agencies, noted that the final phases of the proposed safe zone are being hammered out by military planners. Any steps relating to the safe zone, the Russian foreign minister asserted, should be taken with due respect to the interest of Damascus and Ankara.
“It is an agreement on cooperation in eradicating terrorist threats on the joint border, including the possibility for the Turkish side to act on certain parts of the border on Syrian territory,” he stated, referring the Adana treaty between Turkey and Syria dated back in 1988.
Yet, the Russian diplomat did not mask his disapproval regarding overall Turkish plans to create a safe zone. Turkey, he emphasized, has no right to set up a zone without consent from the Syrian government in Damascus.
While Moscow refers to Adana agreement as a possible legal launchpad for any Turkish military endeavor in Syria, it never shies from warning Ankara that the deal does not grant a blank check to Turkey for an unlimited undertaking. And Russia always insists on Syria’s permission as a precondition for any military initiative by an outside power in Syria.
The Adana agreement, signed between Turkey and Syria in 1998, was designated to envisage the scope and scale of any Turkish effort inside Syria to eradicate outlawed PKK elements. It came to existence after Turkey threatened to invade Syria, which had been accused of harboring PKK leader Abdullah Ocalan in the country.
Ankara interpreted it as a license to conduct military operations on the Syrian side of the 911 km-long border.
Turkey has been fixated on the idea of a safe zone in northern Syria for several reasons. Overwhelmed by millions of refugees, Ankara seeks to unload its burden by accommodating some numbers of refugees into northern Syria.
Another key motive is to contain the expansion of the People’s Protection Units (YPG), a Kurdish militia which forms the central command structure of U.S.-backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF). Turkey regards the group as a terrorist outfit due to its affiliation with the PKK. The issue remains to be a source of friction between Turkey and the U.S. given the latter’s alignment with Kurdish militants in Syria.
Last week, the U.S. said it would leave 400 troops in Syria, a partial departure from President Donald J. Trump’s earlier remarks in which he pledged a full-fledged U.S. pullout.
After facing pressure from its European allies, the U.S. administration changed the course of its withdrawal plans. As part of the latest decision, a large portion of the U.S. forces, 2,000 at the moment, along with European troops, would lead the efforts for the formation of a safe zone.
Russia has not agreed with Turkey on de-escalation zone as Syria makes its own demands to Turkey
The post Turkey Seeks to Control Safe Zone in Syria, While Moscow Demands Russian Policing appeared first on IPA NEWS.
from IPA NEWS https://ipa.news/2019/02/26/turkey-seeks-to-control-safe-zone-in-syria-while-moscow-demands-russian-policing/
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