Under the contradictory reports in circulation over the past few days pertaining to the situation in Manbij, strategic city close to the border with Turkey, the statement of Dmitry Peskov, spokesman of President Vladimir Putin has come yesterday to confirm that the Syrian regime forces have controlled the city. The development is being seen as part of coordination between the YPG and the Syrian regime.
The YPG invited the regime to assert control over areas they vacated following Trump’s decision to exit Syria, and upon the advance of Turkey’s troops toward the city of Manbij which was under the control of the Kurdish militia backed by the US and considered terrorist group by the Turkish government.
The controversy of the consequences of the US troops withdrawal from Syria and vacuum will be left behind has been made clear with the Turkey and Russia agreement to work together to clear all terrorist groups from the area. The two countries have a “common will to clear Syrian territories of all terrorist groups,” Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said following a meeting held yesterday in Moscow with his Russian counterpart, Sergei Lavrov.
For his part, Lavrov told reporters that the two countries have reached an agreement “on how Russian and Turkish military representatives on the ground will continue to coordinate their actions in these new conditions, with the goal of decisively defeating the terrorist threat in Syria”.
Turkey’s struggle to defend its territory and its people against YPG/PKK militant groups which have been responsible for the deaths of some 40,000 people, including women and children has respected the Syrian unity and sovereignty.
By Friday, Turkish President, H E Recep Tayyip Erdogan had made it clear, during his comment over the allegation made by the Syrian regime about entering the city of Manbij, that Turkey is keen to maintain Syria’s unity. “We are against the partitioning of Syria. Our goal is terrorist groups leaving there. If the terrorist groups leave, then there is no job left for us,” Erdogan stressed.
Turkish efforts to combat terrorist groups and to help the people of Syria has gained upper hand over the past eight years, due to its efforts exerted to contain the violence and provide shelter to millions of refugees. With eruption of violence and the civil war in Syria, Turkey opened its border for Syrian refuges and hosted the largest number of Syrians escaping the war and offered them humanitarian aids and other social services like education and health.
Similar efforts were made by the State of Qatar to contain the Syrian crisis by emphasising on its unity also pushing towards reaching a fair solution that meets the aspirations of the Syrian people for freedom, equity and rights to live in peace in a democratic state for which they have fought for over the past years. Qatar strongly believes that the continuation of the Syrian crisis is prolonging the suffering of Syrian people and has negative implications on the stability and security of the neighbouring countries and the entire region.
