Will oil improve Kurdish- Russian relationships?
WASHINGTON, USA (North Press) – With the expiration of Delta Crescent’s licence on August 31, the license to operate oil wells in northeast Syria will be transferred to Gulfsands Petroleum Company, according to what well-informed American sources told North Press.
The British-registered Gulfsands Company is an oil company in several regions of the world, including northeast Syria, where it invested in oil in the region prior to 2011.
According to MEES (Weekly Middle East Oil & Gas News and Analysis covering Oil & Gas), a Russian businessman bought more than half of the company’s assets last June.
This decision coincided with the Russian-American agreement to open the crossings and to have closer views with Russia, which may pave the way for major understandings between the two countries on the Syrian issue, Ryan Mauro, a security analyst at the Clarion Group, told North Press.
“Biden’s administration and people like Brett McGurk have always believed that the Kurds in northeast Syria should build balanced relations with both the United States and Russia, which has the most influence in Syria,” the analyst added.
Furthermore, the long-term Russian presence in Syria has become a certainty and a recognized reality, and therefore the Autonomous Administration must be in line with Russia and Biden’s administration does not object, he added.
Mauro believes that obtaining part of Syrian oil revenues is what Russia aspires to, and the current scenario may be the beginning of Russian-Kurdish harmony in the region, especially as Russia’s concern about the issue of oil going to an American company was even greater than the American presence itself in northeast Syria.
Mauro points out that Joe Biden’s administration wants to stay in Syria to continue fighting terrorism, which is something that Russia cannot confront alone. However, the American political future holds unexpected surprises during the process of political transition from one administration to another; therefore, settling the situation in the region and the relations of the Syrian Democratic Forces with Russia now will be an effective mechanism to avoid any future surprises.