• Tweeter

  • republish

Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, in May 2019 in Damascus. SANA / AFP

The Syrian regime rejects the agreement announced Wednesday, August 7, 2019 between the United States and Turkey, who want to establish a " safe zone " in the north-east of the country. Damascus sees it as a " blatant attack on its sovereignty ".

Turkey and the United States have decided to establish a " Joint Operations Center " to coordinate a security zone in northeastern Syria. An announcement that comes after three days of discussions.

It is unclear whether the two countries were able to agree on the width of this safe area, it was a stumbling block, but the bottom line is that an agreement was found. It should help to lower the tension.

Turkey's Recep Tayyip Erdogan threatened earlier this week to intervene militarily in northeastern Syria against Kurdish militias, angering the Trump administration in Washington.

The United States indeed support these Kurdish militias who helped them in the fight against the jihadists in Syria. But Ankara considers them terrorists because they are close to the PKK, the Kurdish guerrillas operating in Turkey.

It is for this reason that the Turkish government wants to create a security zone on its border with Syria Bashar al-Assad. The government fears in particular the separatist ambitions of the Kurds on its soil.

► Also to listen: In the camp of al-Hol, sub-human living conditions