AhlulBayt News Agency (ABNA): While all the global attention is given to Ukraine war, a new scenario is set for implementation in Syria, with the US and Turkey being its main implementators. Some sources have reported that the chief of the terrorist group Tahrir Al-Sham Abu Mohammad al-Julani has recently met with Turkish officials. The meeting comes a few days after a suspicious visit of an American convoy to a Turkish base in Idlib. The talks of the Turkish officials with the terrorists of Idlib and the Americans at the present time shows that Damascus foes have developed a new scenario for Syria. With the help of the terrorists in Idlib, and exploiting the war in Ukraine, Turkey intends to implement its schemes in Syria and the Ukraine war is offering it a suitable chance to realize its long-held dreams.
As Turkish officials show, the country is optimistic about its victory in Syria and is therefore trying to reach an agreement with the terrorists, marking its zone in northern Syria with the takfiris of Tahrir Al-Sham and digging deep trenches around Idlib. This is done to prevent possible clashes between the forces of the two sides.
There have been reports of Turkish weapons being sold to Tahrir Al-Sham terrorists recently, which seems to have been done with the aim of appeasing the group, and in return, the group handed over a number of wanted prisoners to Turkey in a show of the two sides moving closer to each other.
Turkey, as the biggest sponsor of terrorists, has been seeking the establishment of a no-fly zone in northern Syria for years, and with the start of the Ukraine war, this issue is being re-entertained by the Turkish leaders. If the no-fly zone is successfully implemented, the Turkish-backed terrorists in Idlib would live on peacefully.
Ankara seeks to occupy northern Syria under the pretext of fighting the PKK terrorists in order to secure its borders. It is doing so to implement its failed plans now that Russia, as the biggest supporter of Damascus, is busy with Ukraine war. As Russia has reduced its forces in Syria for deployment to Ukraine, Washington and Ankara are seizing the opportunity and seeking complete occupation of northern Syria. The fact that President Recep Tayyip Erdogan of recently announced his intention to return refugees to northern Syria is not out of pity but of resurging dreams to realize his failed Syria plans.
Driven by economic and interests, Turkey played conservatively in Ukraine crisis and did not side with the West against Russia. But it now seems to have shifted strategy and plans to wrest privileges from the US in Syria in return for accompanying the Western policy concerning Ukraine.
For the US, the new game in Syria is two targets with a one shot. Washington, which lost the game to Moscow in Syria over the past decade, is now seeking to reverse an 11-year defeat and implement its Syria plans with Ankara assistance. The Americans know that because of Russia's involvement in Ukraine, the Russian role in Syria will diminish, and this is good news for Washington to strengthen its foothold in northern Syria and safely loot its oil and gas. The fact that the US recently issued an investment permit in northeastern Syria suggests that it is plotting for a long-term presence in northern Syria and possibly Kurdish independence from the central government. The West seeks to make Ukraine conflict a war of attrition for Russia in order to realize their plans without Russian disturbance.
From another aspect, by transferring Syrian terrorists to Ukraine, Washington wants to inflict heavy casualties on Russian forces. Moscow officials have recently pointed out that the Americans are training terrorists in Ukraine. The terrorists, who are not happy with the Russians and see Moscow as the main cause of the failure of establishment of their caliphate, are seeking revenge using the opportunity offered by Ukraine war. With Ukraine equipped by the US and other Western allies with the modern arms, the deployment of terrorists from Syria to Ukraine fronts can tip the scales to Kiev's favor. The West has a consensus in its determination to defeat Russia and uses any means, including deployment of terrorists from Idlib to Ukraine, to this end.
Although the US and Turkey are encouraged to replan violation of Syrian sovereignty by the decreased Russian role in the Arab country, they seem to have forgotten that the Syrian government is essentially different now and is in a position of power. Its allies in the Axis of Resistance are in their highest readiness, too, and act upon Damascus request.
The foreign actors' movements and plans over the past 11 years have focused on backing to terrorists and their claims of support to the Syrian people have been sham and brought nothing but damage to them. The new American-Turkish adventure not only would not solve any of the Syrian problems but also bring grave consequences to the region and the world in the middle of Ukraine war and displace millions more. Over the past decade, the Syrians have come up with the understanding that the foreign pity does not solve their problems and it is only through trust in the central government and national unity that they can beat the crisis. Their massive turnout in the presidential election last year obviously proved this belief of them.
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