ISTANBUL, Turkey (North Press) – Russia is afraid to weaken the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) in Ain Issa, north Syria, Moscow-based president of the International Center for Political Analysis and Forecasting Denis Korkodinov said Wednesday.
“Russia, in time, will be an obstacle to any Turkish military movement against the area,” political analyst stated.
Ain Issa topped the agenda of the meeting that held between Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and his Turkish counterpart Mevlut Cavusoglu in Russia’s Sochi on Tuesday.
“During the Russian-Turkish negotiations, they issued a decision regarding Ain Issa that stated that the SDF military forces would withdraw from the city in return for Russian security guarantees,” Korkodinov said.
“This is in the best interest of Turkey, that keeps insisting on SDF’s withdrawal from Ain Issa, and Moscow, in its position, relies on the saying that Turks are using the Kurds’ existence in order to expand their military presence in Syria,” he added.
Syrian government forces are expanding their control over northwest Syria as the result of a Russian-Turkish agreement regarding Ain Issa, according to the Russian analyst.
“According to the outcomes of the meeting between Lavrov and Cavusoglu, the demarcation lines are not clear, whereas the government army has fortified its sites on the M4 Highway,” he said.
The government army fortifications “make it close to the transport paths that Turkey uses to arm its affiliated opposition groups which are operating there,” he added.
“It is certain that this situation disrupts the Turkish aggression that might be countered with resistance from government forces, while if the SDF influence is weakened, Turks will seek to expel the government forces from the outskirts of Ain Issa and then try to pressure the Russian troops, forcing them to leave the city,” Korkodinov explained.
“In the middle of it all, Turkey is urgently needs Russia, because Moscow can reach an agreement with SDF commanding that grants their safety,” the Russian analyst added.
“Russian-Turkish cooperation will be threatened if Turks start a military operation officially in order to seize Ain Issa (that may take place in the second half of February 2021),” he confirmed.
In this case, Russian troops will abstain from fulfilling security tasks and turn into an obstacle, creating an extra burden for Kurdish and Turkish-backed groups, he noted.
Turkish-backed armed opposition groups have intensified their attacks on the outskirts of Ain Issa in an attempt to seize the M4 Highway, according to a statement by the SDF.
For more than two weeks, SDF has continued to confront the attempts of the Turkish forces and their affiliated armed groups to infiltrate the surrounding villages of Ain Issa.
The SDF said that for the past two days, its fighters have responded to massive attacks launched by the opposition groups on the villages of Misherfah and Jahbal, northeast of Ain Issa.
Tel Abyad Military Council Commander Riyad al-Khalaf said on Tuesday that the former agreement with the Russians regarding establishing a military observatory post in the town of Ain Issa is unchanged.
“The Russian guarantor is still silent regarding the violations and shelling against the civilians in the town and its countryside, and it did not play the supposed role,” Khalaf added in a statement to North Press.