Russia, Turkey hit on accord in Syria

As Kurds pull out, 2 nations’ forces set to move in, jointly patrol border

Syrian President Bashar Assad speaks with Syrian soldiers Tuesday in the strategic town of Habeet in northwestern Syria during a visit underlining his goal of regaining control of all territory along the border with Turkey. More photos at arkansasonline.com/1023turkey/
Syrian President Bashar Assad speaks with Syrian soldiers Tuesday in the strategic town of Habeet in northwestern Syria during a visit underlining his goal of regaining control of all territory along the border with Turkey. More photos at arkansasonline.com/1023turkey/

ANKARA, Turkey -- Russia and Turkey announced an agreement Tuesday to jointly patrol almost the entire northeastern Syrian border after the withdrawal of Kurdish fighters, cementing the two countries' power in Syria in the wake of President Donald Trump's abrupt withdrawal of U.S. forces.

The announcement came as Kurdish fighters completed their pullout from a section of the Syrian-Turkish border as required under a U.S.-brokered cease-fire that was to expire Tuesday night. Together the arrangements transform the map of northeast Syria, leaving Turkey in sole control over one section in the middle of the border, while Turkey, Russia and the Syrian government will have hands in the rest.

The deployments replace American soldiers who for five years battled alongside Kurdish-led fighters and succeeded in taking down the rule of the Islamic State across a third of Syria at the cost of thousands of Kurdish fighters' lives.

Presidents Vladimir Putin of Russia and Recep Tayyip Erdogan of Turkey announced their agreement after six hours of talks and poring over maps of Syria at the Black Sea resort of Sochi. Under the 10-point deal, Kurdish fighters would have 150 hours starting at noon today -- meaning, until next Tuesday at 6 p.m. -- to withdraw from the border.

[Video not showing up above? Click here to watch » https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=42o2W8yws4w]

Russian and Syrian government forces would move into that area immediately to ensure that the Kurdish fighters pull back 20 miles from the border. Then at the end of the 150 hours, Russian-Turkish patrols would begin along a 6-mile-wide strip of the border.

The exception would be the region around the town of Qamishli at the far eastern end of the border, which has some of the densest Kurdish population. Russian and Turkish officials did not immediately say what the arrangement would be around Qamishli.

"I believe that this agreement will start a new era toward Syria's lasting stability and it being cleared of terrorism. I hope that this agreement is beneficial to our countries and to our brothers in Syria," Erdogan said.

Turkey will keep control of the section in the center of the border that it captured in its invasion that began Oct. 9. That is the territory that Kurdish fighters withdrew from under the U.S.-brokered cease-fire. It extends roughly 75 miles wide and 20 miles deep between the Syrian border towns of Tal Abyad and Ras al-Ayn.

But in exchange, Erdogan has had to give up hopes of exerting greater control over a much wider territory -- and agree to allow Syrian President Bashar Assad's forces back to a border they abandoned several years ago.

He was also rebuked by Putin for risking a revival of the Islamic State. Distracted by the invasion, Kurdish fighters have been unable to carry out anti-Islamic State operations, and several Islamic State militants have escaped Kurdish-run jails.

"It is important to make sure," Putin said as Erdogan stood beside him, "that members of terrorist organizations, including ISIS, whose militants are kept by Kurdish armed formations and are trying to escape, would not use the opportunity created by the actions of Turkish forces." ISIS is an alternative name for the Islamic State.

Earlier, there were signs of trouble with the cease-fire even as the meeting in Russia got underway. The Kurdish-led militias, known as the Syrian Democratic Forces, said they had only partially completed their withdrawal.

Mervan Qamishlo, a Syrian Democratic Forces spokesman, blamed what he said were ongoing attacks by Turkey and allied forces for the delay and said Kurdish-led forces had withdrawn only from Ras al-Ayn.

"It seems that Turkey is not serious about the agreement," he said in a text message Tuesday morning. "Until now, there is no withdrawal from other areas."

Erdogan said shortly before departing Tuesday for Russia that between 700 and 800 Kurdish fighters had withdrawn as part of the agreement. "It is said that the remaining 1,200, up to 1,300, are continuing to exit rapidly," he said, citing information from Turkey's defense minister.

"Of course we are tracking them. They are all going to leave, and this process will not end before they leave," Erdogan added.

Later Tuesday, a senior Kurdish official, Redur Khalil, confirmed that his forces had entirely left the border area.

The Kurdish-led forces notified the White House of the completed withdrawal in a letter, a senior Trump administration official said, speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss the contents of the letter.

TURKEY INVASION

After the U.S. announced its pullout earlier this month, Turkey started its invasion, saying it wanted to carve out a safe zone cleared of Kurdish fighters whom it considers terrorists. Turkey also plans to settle many of the 3.6 million Syrian refugees on its soil in that zone, which is the heartland of Syria's Kurdish minority.

For the Kurds, a Turkish takeover would mean the crushing of the self-rule they have carved out in the northeast during Syria's civil war. They also fear demographic change, as Kurdish civilians flee Turkish control and mainly Arab Syrian refugees move in.

The new agreement aims to ease those fears by giving Russia and its ally, the Syrian government, control over much of the area, with the Turkish patrols limited to closer to the border. That may prevent a flight of civilians but would be a blow to Kurdish autonomy dreams.

The Russia-Turkey deal goes a considerable way to restoring the control of Moscow's ally, the Syrian government, across much of the northeast.

Assad has vowed to reunite all the territory under Damascus' rule. On Tuesday, Assad said he was ready to support any "popular resistance" against Turkey's invasion.

Erdogan is "a thief," Assad told troops during a visit to the northwestern province of Idlib. "He stole the factories and the wheat and the oil in cooperation with Daesh [the Islamic State] and now is stealing the land."

"We are in the middle of a battle and the right thing to do is to rally efforts to lessen the damages from the invasion and to expel the invader sooner or later," Assad said.

Assad's visit to Idlib underlined Damascus' goal of regaining the border. Idlib is adjacent to a border enclave that Turkey captured several years ago in another incursion. Turkey also has observation points inside Idlib, negotiated with Russia, to monitor a cease-fire there between the government and opposition fighters and jihadi groups.

He said his government had offered clemency to Kurdish fighters -- whom it considers separatists -- to "ensure that everyone is ready to resist the aggression" and fight the Turkish assault.

Syrian state media outlets reported, meanwhile, that government forces entered new areas in Hassakeh province at the far eastern end of the border, under the arrangement with the Kurds.

AMERICAN PULLOUT

The American pullout has proved chaotic and stumbling. It ran into a new hitch when neighboring Iraq said Tuesday that the American forces did not have permission to stay in its territory. The Iraqi announcement seemed to contradict U.S. Defense Secretary Mark Esper, who a day earlier said the forces leaving Syria would deploy in Iraq to fight the Islamic State group.

On Tuesday, Esper said he plans to talk to Iraqi leaders to work out details about the U.S. plan to send American troops withdrawing from Syria to Iraq, adding that the U.S. has no plans to have those troops stay in Iraq "interminably."

Speaking to reporters at Prince Sultan Air Base in Saudi Arabia, Esper said he'll have a discussion with the Iraqi defense minister today. He said the aim is to pull U.S. soldiers out and "eventually get them home."

An Iraqi official said his government has told the Americans that they will allow the U.S. forces to pass through, but not to stay.

"They understood that and will clarify that" in the next hours, the official said, speaking on condition of anonymity.

Also Tuesday, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell introduced legislation denouncing Turkey's invasion of northern Syria and gently prodding Trump to halt his withdrawal of U.S. troops from the embattled country.

But McConnell, R-Ky., said lawmakers should refrain from imposing sanctions on Turkey for now, saying, "We don't want to further drive a NATO ally into the arms of the Russians."

That puts him into conflict with the Democratic-led House, where a vote on a sanctions measure is planned for next week.

Senate Democrats also said they wanted to plunge ahead with sanctions legislation. A bipartisan package by Sens. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C. and Chris Van Hollen, D-Md., would bar arms sales to Turkey and place sanctions on the assets of top officials in Ankara.

"The United States should not be dithering," Van Hollen said of McConnell's desire to hold off on sanctions. "We shouldn't be twiddling our thumbs while our allies are being massacred and while ISIS is coming back."

McConnell's resolution says the withdrawal of American troops should be halted "where practical," and says the U.S. should continue using air power to attack Islamic State fighters in Syria.

It also says Trump should rescind his invitation to Erdogan for a White House visit until a solid cease-fire between Turkish and Kurdish forces has been reached. Many lawmakers have opposed that invitation as an unwarranted prize to an anti-democratic strongman.

Information for this article was contributed by Suzan Fraser, Vladimir Isachenkov, Elena Becatoros, Kirsten Grieshaber, Sarah El Deeb, Qassim Abdul-Zahra, Zeina Karam, Lolita C. Baldor and Alan Fram of The Associated Press; by Anton Troianovski and Patrick Kingsley of The New York Times; and by Kareem Fahim, Sarah Dadouch, Amie Ferris-Rotman, Asser Khatab and Mustafa Salim of The Washington Post.

photo

AP/SERGEI CHIRIKOV

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan (left) and Russian President Vladimir Putin hold a news conference Tuesday in Sochi, Russia, to announce their agreement to jointly patrol most of northeastern Syria after giving Kurdish fighters until next Tuesday to withdraw. Erdogan said the deal would start “a new era toward Syria’s lasting stability” and rid the area of terrorists.

photo

AP/BADERKHAN AHMAD

Syrian girls stand beside a government vehicle and a napping soldier Tuesday in Tal Tamr in northern Syria. Syrian President Bashar Assad said Tuesday that Kurdish fighters in the region had been offered clemency to “ensure that everyone is ready to resist the aggression” and fight the Turkish assault.

A Section on 10/23/2019

Upcoming Events