TURKISH IMPERIALISM
Syrian Kurds, Damascus gov’t discuss border protection amid Turkey offensive threat

Last Updated On: Jul 02 2022 

The Kurdish groups who control part of northern and eastern Syria, a region they refer to as Rojava, have held meetings with the government in Damascus to discuss how to protect the Syrian-Turkish borders, London-based Asharq al-Awsat reported on Saturday, citing a Kurdish official.

Russia sponsored the talks as Turkey appears to prepare for another incursion into Kurdish-held areas to the east of the River Euphrates.

Syrian forces are already present at the border areas in a limited capacity, having moved in after Turkey took control of significant territory away from Syrian Kurds. Damascus has recently reinforced its positions in northern Raqqa and eastern Aleppo, Asharq al-Awsat said.

Badran Jia Kurd, a vice president in the autonomous administration in Kurdish-held Syrian territory, told reporters that the agreement with regime forces had been in place since 2019.

Damascus must have a clear stance on the Turkish threat and confront any incursion, as it jeopardises stability, unity and the future of the whole country, he said.

Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), the military element controlling the region, hopes to avoid a Turkish offensive by giving the task of protecting the border to the government.

Damascus is also interested in the Kurdish region, which contains deposits of oil and is home to many wheat fields.

Turkey considers the SDF, the Democratic Union Party (PYD) and the People’s Protection Units (YPG) to be terrorist groups, and is working to get its Western allies on board with the idea. Earlier in the week, Ankara secured a memorandum with Stockholm and Helsinki that Sweden and Finland would stop aiding YPG or other similar groups.

The agreement reached in the NATO accession negotiations for the two Nordic countries has been considered by some to be a signal that the operation will begin soon.