Russia offered Wednesday to mediate a resolution in northern Syria, further asserting Moscow’s role as a regional force, ahead of a mission by US Vice President Mike Pence to press Turkey for a cease-fire in its attack on Syrian Kurdish fighters.
Ahead of talks with Pence, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan defied US economic sanctions, saying the only way its military offensive would end was if Syrian Kurdish fighters leave a designated border area.
Erdogan also said he had “no problem” accepting an invitation from Russian President Vladimir Putin to visit Russia soon to discuss Syria. But he threw into doubt a planned Nov. 13 meeting with US President Donald Trump, citing anger over the sanctions that Washington imposed Monday on the NATO ally.
Russia has moved quickly to entrench its leadership role and fill the void after Trump ordered the pullout of American forces in northeastern Syria. Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said in remarks carried by Russian news agencies that Moscow is committed to mediating between Syria and Turkey.
America’s abrupt withdrawal of its troops pushed the Kurds to strike a deal with the Russia-backed government of Syrian President Bashar Assad, allowing his forces to return to regions of northern Syria they abandoned at the height of the 8-year-old civil war. It has also allowed Moscow to take a more prominent role as an interlocutor among Assad, the former US-allied Kurds and Turkey.
Trump added that US troops are “largely out” of the region, adding that if Russia wanted to get involved with Syria, “that’s really up to them. It’s not our border. We shouldn’t be losing lives over it.”
Russia already has announced it had deployed troops outside the flashpoint town of Manbij to keep apart the Syrian military and Turkish-led forces. Syrian forces took control of Manbij as US troops completed their pullout from the town Tuesday. The Syrian and Russian deployments appear to have thwarted Turkey’s hopes to capture the town, located just west of the Euphrates River.
In another sign of Moscow’s rising profile, France suggested it will also work more closely with Russia in Syria.
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