Syria’s Kurds face squeeze after tripartite meeting in Moscow

Beirut, Lebanon (AFP):

Syria’s Kurds could soon face a tripartite ultimatum to cede territory, analysts predict, as Syrian, Turkish and Russian defence ministers met this week in Moscow — the first such talks since Syria’s war began in 2011.

Russia has long backed the regime in Damascus, while Turkiye supports Syrian rebel groups, and views the US-backed Kurds, who maintain a semi-autonomous administration in northeast Syria, as linked to Kurdish “terrorists” at home.

Before the start of Syria’s war in 2011, Ankara was a privileged political and economic partner of Damascus and the two countries’ presidents enjoyed a friendly relationship.

But the conflict, which began with the brutal suppression of anti-government protests before escalating to pull in foreign powers, has hugely strained relations between the neighbouring countries.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan became a fierce opponent of President Bashar al-Assad’s rule and offered unwavering support to Syria’s political opposition and rebel groups as nearly four million refugees crossed into the NATO member’s territory.

A hint of reconciliation came in 2021 when the two countries’ foreign ministers shared an informal exchange on the sidelines of a regional summit.

Turkiye’s foreign minister in August called for reconciliation between Assad and rebel groups.

President Erdogan, who in recent years repeatedly called Assad an “assassin”, spoke in November of a “possible” meeting with his Syrian counterpart.

Analysts say Russia is playing a crucial role in bringing Ankara and Damascus closer together, in part because Syria’s Kurds are backed by Washington.