Although Ankara’s role in Assad’s overthrow had been “overstated”, Turkey now has “real economic leverage” thanks to the 900-kilometre (560-mile) border it shares with Syria, the source said on condition of anonymity.
How the situation develops will also depend on US President-elect Donald Trump, who takes office on January 20 but has already proclaimed that “Turkey is going to hold the key to Syria”.
Since late November, the SDF has been battling Turkey-backed fighters who launched an offensive on Kurdish-held areas at the same time as HTS’s anti-Assad campaign.
On Tuesday, the SDF said in a statement its fighters were waging deadly combat to the east of the key city of Manbij, with 16 deaths in its ranks.
Syria’s Kurds, long oppressed under Assad’s rule, saw an opportunity during the war to carve out a semi-autonomous territory in the northeast.
They proved an indispensable ally to the US-led coalition battling the Islamist State group.
Since Assad’s ouster on December 8, they have issued numerous statements welcoming his downfall, and also put out calls for dialogue with the new leadership in Damascus and with Turkey.
In Syria’s northeast, both the Kurdish flag and the three-star independence-era flag used by the new authorities can be seen.
Meanwhile, Syria’s new foreign minister Assaad Hassan al-Shibani took to X Tuesday evening to warn Iran against “propagating chaos” in Syria and called on it to respect Syrian sovereignty.
On Monday, Iran’s foreign ministry had said it had not any direct contact with Syria’s new leaders but called on them to not ley Syria “become a refuge for terrorism,” though it did also call to “preserve the sovereignty and integrity” of the country.
© 2024 AFP
