Erdogan Must Go: As Kurds Turn to Damascus, Turkey’s Op Loses Relevance

If the Kurds have given up the idea of creating a sovereign entity in northern Syria, then Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan no longer has a justification to proceed with his Olive Branch operation in Afrin and Manbij, political analyst of Syrian origin Ghassan Kadi told Sputnik.

“It has been reported that Syrian Arab Army (SAA) units have entered Afrin and were greeted by locals brandishing posters of both President Assad and Kurdish leader Ocalan,” the political analyst noted, adding that the recent event seems to have “all the hallmarks of a national Syrian reconciliation.”

It could mean that the Kurds “have inadvertently dropped the idea of an independent state,” he highlighted.

On February 22, residents of the Kurdish-held Afrin greeted pro-Damascus militia, waving flags of the Syrian Arab Republic and portraits of Bashar al-Assad.

Two days later, a Kurdish security source told Sputnik that the Kurdish-dominated Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) had reached an agreement to cede control over Manbij to the SAA, which is reportedly due to enter the city in the coming days.

“If Erdogan refuses to see this reality, yes, he could be asking for direct clashes with the SAA and even a limited war,” Kadi emphasized. “I continue to believe that a full-scale war is not on the agenda of either Turkey or Syria.”

The UN’s Saturday decision to implement a 30-day ceasefire in Syria by no means affected Ankara’s determination to proceed with the military campaign.

…

H/t reader Squodgy: