Russia seeks to make gains in Syria in line with Turkish agreements: political analyst
QAMISHLI, Syria (North Press) – On Saturday, an expert in the Russian affairs said that through opening crossings between Syrian government-held areas and the areas held by pro-Turkish armed groups, Russia is looking forward to fulfilling new gains, while Turkey is covering its agreements in order not to raise public outrage in Idlib’s villages.
Political analyst Samer Elias said, “Russia follows systematic tactics it previously used in order to escalate conditions to the greatest possible extent, and then it will propose solutions to ease the escalation, coinciding with gaining extra benefits and fulfilling solutions according to agreements with Turkey.”
“The economic reasons are the main cause of the call to open the crossings between government-held areas and pro-Turkish armed opposition-held areas,” he added in an interview with North Press.
He pointed out that Turkey “agreed to, or at least does not object to, this, but it does not want to declare it directly out of fear of public outrage among the opposition in the Idlib and Aleppo countryside.”
On Wednesday, the deputy head of the Russian Reconciliation Center in Hmeimim, Alexander Karpov, announced the decision to resume the work of the corridors of Saraqeb and Mizner in Idlib and Abu Zeyden in Aleppo.
“The proposal included sending two humanitarian shipments and the exit of IDPs through the corridors starting from March 25,” he pointed out.
However, Elias believes that “the humanitarian goal behind the Russian calls to reopen the crossings is a farce, because Russians can put the regime under pressure to halt the attacks on the north and northwest of Syria and adhere to the previous agreements.”
He pointed out that the living conditions in areas in north and northwest Syria, except for the camps, “are much better that the regime-held areas, and naturally, this situation does not satisfy Russia or the regime.”
“The previous experiences through opening corridors and humanitarian crossings revealed that the civilians do not trust Russians and the regime, and they prefer to stay in camps rather than return to the remaining homes in their cities and villages, as they are afraid of the regime’s repression,” he added.
The analyst stressed, “The Russian message states that areas in north and northwest Syria should not experience economic and security conditions that are better than those in the regime-held areas, and corridors should be reopened to smooth the crisis of the regime in case residents want peace.”