Assad regime, Russian troops sweep into northern Syria
Trump sends Pence and Pompeo to Ankara for talks as pressure mounts on Erdogan
Russian troops on Wednesday swept into territory in northern Syria abandoned by US forces amid a deepening crisis over the invasion launched by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
The latest potential flashpoint came when US fighter jets flew over the border city of Kobani in a show of force after Turkish-backed Syrian fighters came close to the few US troops remaining there.
The US withdrawal has created a race between Turkey and Russia to carve up the Kurdish area that had been protected by American troops. Russian forces crossed the Euphrates River on Wednesday and advanced toward Kobani. Assad regime forces backed by Russia and Iran have also taken advantage of the vacuum left by departing US troops to move swiftly into the largest part of Syria that they do not control.
Regime troops set up outposts in Raqqa, the capital of Daesh’s socalled caliphate, which the Kurds captured in 2017 with US support. They also moved into population centers across the Kurdish-held area, including the city of Manbij, a prime target of Erdogan’s invasion. Russian and Syrian flags flew from buildings in the city.
A defiant Erdogan said he was happy for Russian-backed forces to control Manbij, provided the Kurdish YPG militia was cleared out. “I told this to Mr. Putin as well,” Erdogan said. “If you are clearing Manbij of terrorist organizations, then go ahead, you or the regime can provide all the logistics. But if you are not going to do this, the people there are telling us to save them.”
Erdogan says US President Donald Trump approved his plan for a “safe zone” in northern Syria, 30 km deep and extending from the Euphrates to the Iraqi border. Trump denies endorsing the Turkish invasion, and has imposed economic sanctions on Ankara.
“They say ‘declare a cease-fire.’ We will never declare a cease-fire,” Erdogan said. “They are pressuring us to stop the operation. They are announcing sanctions. Our goal is clear. We are not worried about any sanctions.”
Nevertheless, the diplomatic pressure on Erdogan is mounting. US National Security Adviser RobErdogan ert O’Brien arrived in Ankara on Wednesday for talks with Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu. He will be followed on Thursday by Vice President Mike Pence and Secretary of State Mike Pompeo. initially threatened to snub Pence, but his office said on Wednesday their meeting would go ahead.
The Turkish president has also been angered by the announcement by US prosecutors that they are charging Turkey’s majority state-owned Halkbank with taking part in a multibillion-dollar scheme to evade Iran sanctions. Erdogan denounced the charges as an “unlawful, ugly step.”