Russian President Putin appears to be making another shrewd play for power in the Middle East by allying with the Kurds, in a step that undermines United States and Turkish policy in the region.
Russia-Turkey relations have deteriorated since the crisis over the downing of a Russian aircraft in November.
Syrian Kurds announced on Saturday that they would open their first foreign office in Moscow, with a ceremony to be held on Wednesday in a ceremony to be attended by Russian foreign ministry officials as well as representatives from several other countries, according to Abdulsalam Ali, the Syrian Kurdish envoy in Moscow.
“Our ambition is to rally support behind our Kurdish enclave in Syria through this office,” said Ali, according to Rudaw. He is also a member of the Democratic Unity Party (PYD), the main political organization in Syria’s Kurdish administrated areas.
The choice of Moscow and not Washington or Western Europe is telling.
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Update: Russia supporting Kurdish groups in Syria to Turkey’s detriment (Washington Times)
WNU Editor: I do not see such an alliance forming. The Kurds want an independent Kurdistan, but Russia's allies in the region (Iran, Syria, etc.) .... have no interest in seeing such a state arise. But the Kurds are providing a means for Russia to annoy and leverage Turkey, and I guess this is serving Russia's short term goals and objectives.
3 comments:
More autonomy doesn't mean an independent Kurdistan. All of them; Russia, Syria, and the Kurds share common enemies and all would benefit from an autonomous-Kurd/Syrian/Russian alliance. The formation of a state can be negotiated later...after the expulsion of "rebels" from Syrian territory. Kurds are not considered "rebels" at this time and would certainly benefit from Russian air cover from Turkish air strikes.
Alliance or no, independent state or no; any agreements between Russia and the Syrian Kurds will bring Russia and Turkey one step closer to a tragic accident... And the West closer to being forced into making a radical choice on who we consider our true friends to be.
WNU,
"I do not see such an alliance forming."
I do, at least for the short term.
Dupuis has a lot of good things in his comment.
WNU Editor,
Kurdish "Unity" is greatly exaggerated. While the Syrian Kurds have "unity" through the PYD,
the Iraqi Kurds have 4 different major political parties who fought a Civil War in the '90's, and only agree that they hate the PPK and PYD,
The Turkish Kurds have two different major political parties, one is willing to wage war for independence, the other see's the Kurds as "kingmakers" in Turkey.
This "deal" is with just the Syrian Kurds, who after the war, will either have major autonomy in Syria, or the unrecognized state of Royjova, (recognized by Syria, Russia and maybe Iran, but nobody else).
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