Putin-Erdogan Syria Deal Sets Moscow as Central Peace-Broker in Region - Kurdish Official
The Russian-Turkish memorandum on northeast Syria indicates that Moscow has gained the key role in promoting a political settlement on the north-Syrian border, Ahmad Suleiman, a senior member of the Syrian Kurdish Democratic Progressive Party (KDPP), told Sputnik
Following six-hour talks on Tuesday, Russian President Vladimir Putin and his Turkish counterpart, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, agreed that Russian military police and Syrian border guards would facilitate the withdrawal of Kurdish militia from an 18-mile zone on the Syria-Turkey border within 150 hours starting from Wednesday.
"I think, it [the memorandum] has prevented Turkey from considering military interventions and it remains to be forgotten that other international and regional parties still have a great influence on the internal situation in Syria. According to the agreement, Russia's role has become the most important one in pushing things toward the political settlement," Suleiman said, when asked whether the memorandum prevented a possible military confrontation between Ankara and Damascus.
A senior KDPP member stressed that Turkey had failed to persuade Moscow to continue military operations in Syria, noting that the Putin-Erdogan deal was a "good start" to reduce the Turkish presence in the Arab country.
"I think the important thing is to start reducing the Turkish military presence in Syria, and it [memorandum] is a good start. Turkey is now dissatisfied with the Adana agreement and had previously rejected it, but if Turkey returns to this deal, it will mean that Ankara needs guarantees of its national security. At the same time, Turkey sought to persuade Russia to continue military operations and further occupation of Syria's territory, but Russia prevented it," he noted.
Suleiman also expressed hope that Moscow would facilitate the stabilization of the situation on the Syrian border and contribute to the preservation of the peace process in the country.
The Adana Agreement between Ankara and Damascus, signed in 1998, stipulates that Syria must halt activities and refuse shelter on its territory for Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) members, whom Turkey sees as terrorists. The deal was signed to settle a diplomatic crisis in 1998 and obliged Damascus to extradite PKK prisoners to Turkey upon request.