Russia has played a "positive role" in helping resolve the conflict in northern Syria and ensuring that US-designed plans would not be used in the region, Syrian President Bashar Assad said in an interview with Sputnik and Rossiya 24 broadcaster
DAMASCUS (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 15th November, 2019) Russia has played a "positive role" in helping resolve the conflict in northern Syria and ensuring that US-designed plans would not be used in the region, Syrian President Bashar Assad said in an interview with Sputnik and Rossiya 24 broadcaster.
In early October, shortly after the withdrawal of US forces from the area, Turkey launched an offensive in Northern Syria, targeting the Kurdish militia, labeled as terrorists by Ankara, and the Islamic State terrorist group (banned in Russia). The international community has expressed strong concern over the offensive. In late October, Russia and Turkey signed an agreement on joint patrols along the Syrian-Turkish border. Under the agreement, the Kurdish fighters and Turkish forces are expected to pull back from the border.
"Our assessment is positive because there is no doubt that Russia's involvement has positive aspects, because otherwise we would have been faced with three options," Assad said, when asked what he thought of the Russian-Turkish agreement.
The first option would be the Turkish plan "with its Muslim Brotherhood [a terrorist organization, banned in Russia] and Ottoman dimensions," Assad said. Another plan would be the US one, linked to Turkey's agenda and "meant for the Turkish incursion to complicate the situation in Syria," the president added.
"The third option was the German proposal, i.e. internationalizing the region, and consequently imposing international protection. All these plans are ultimately designed by the American leadership. Here is the significance of the positive Russian role, which outmaneuvered these plans and neutralized the Kurdish pretext, in order to prepare the ground for Turkey's withdrawal," Assad said.
