Turkey’s foreign minister in Moscow as Syria’s government closes in on Damascus suburb
Today, Turkey’s foreign minister arrives in Moscow for three days of talks, which will culminate in a joint statement with his Russian counterpart on Wednesday.
There has been ongoing cooperation between the two regional powers that, along with Iran, will chair a in April aiming to coordinate next steps in the country.
Turkey’s end game seeks a post-conflict Syria that negates American-supported Kurdish nationalists seeking statehood or harbouring what Ankara sees as Kurdish terrorists, hence the invasion of Afrin since January. Russia had supported Kurdish groups in Syria for the duration of the conflict, but increasing US-assistance to said groups has forced a wedge between the Kurds and Moscow, the latter of which withdrew its forces from Afrin to allow for the Turkish invasion.
Today’s talks are timely because pro-regime forces—allied with Russia—continue to help the Kurds resist the Turks in Afrin. Ankara would likely wish to avoid a repeat of such occurrences. Expect deteriorating relations between the Kremlin and the Kurds in the next few months as cooperation between Ankara and Moscow ramps up.
Start your day with an open-source intelligence briefing. Download The Daily Brief app.
