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The so-called Kurdish autonomy of Rojava has begun to blur this Monday before the advance of troops supported by Turkey and the one that started the army loyal to Bashar Asad, whose soldiers and tanks have regained control of villages such as Tabqa, Tel Tamer or Ain Issa with the tacit acceptance of the Kurdish guerrillas.

The approach of the armed forces of Damascus to the city of Raqqa contains a special symbolism, given that this town was the first one that fell into the hands of the Syrian revolutionaries in March 2013. Their return to the rule of the regime would only confirm the broad political victory and strategic that Asad has noted in this crisis, which may allow him to regain authority over the entire northeast of the country.

The Syrian armored vehicles also approached the villages of Manbij and Kobane, which are also among the objectives of the Turkish uniformed and the paramilitaries fighting at their side, which still implies a notable risk that this situation will result in an open confrontation between Ankara and Damascus.

However, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan himself acknowledges that he is negotiating with Russia - the new factual power of Syria and to some extent in the Middle East - and has said that Moscow has shown "a positive approach to Kobane. It seems we won't face any problem there. "

Demonstrations to celebrate the return of the forces of Damascus are multiplying since Sunday night in cities such as Qamishli, Hasaka, Raqqa or Tabqa. The videos recorded by the citizens of these villages show agglomerations of hundreds of people who display flags of the country and recover the old cry that prevailed in that nation for decades: "With our soul and our blood we will sacrifice for you, Bashar."

At the border post of Peshabkur, on the border between what was called the autonomy of Rojava and Iraqi Kurdistan, the moods were not the same, especially among those who left Syrian territory. "It is the end of a dream. Once again they have betrayed us. The regime will not respect any agreement. It may not kill us how the Turks would do, but Rojava no longer exists," said Ahmed Mahmud, a Kurd from Qamishli of 30 years that was addressed to Erbil.

The terms of the pact between those responsible for Kurdish autonomy and the authorities are unknown, but a political leader of the Syrian territory, Abed Hamad al-Mehbash, has told a local media that the treaty will not modify the powers of autonomy, a hypothesis that contradicts the repressive policy that the regime maintained towards this community in the past.

A statement from the Kurdish authorities in the area has added that the return of Syrian troops to the north-east of the country may be only a first step to continue the offensive towards other enclaves under the control of the rebels supported by Ankara. "This agreement offers an opportunity to free the rest of the territories and cities occupied by the Turkish army as Afrin," it read.

Other Kurdish leaders admit that the entire pact has basically focused on facilitating the arrival of Syrian military to the area as quickly as possible, without an exact definition of their political terms. "After the Americans left the region and gave the green light for the Turkish attack, we were forced to look for other options," Badran Jia Kurd, a senior Kurdish official, told Reuters. Badran acknowledges that only "military" details have been discussed with Damascus and that the political discussion will be addressed later.

"We know that we will have to make a painful commitment, but between that commitment and the genocide of our people we choose life," says the military head of the Syrian Democratic Forces, controlled by the Kurds, Mazloum Abdi, to Foreign Policy.

What happened in Syria exceeds the geostrategic importance of that nation, since it is only a reflection of what seems to be the end of an entire era, in which the US supremacy in the region will be supplanted by Russia in alliance with actors such as Iran.

A reality that the surrounding nations begin to accommodate, including Saudi Arabia, which today received with all the pomp required from Vladimir Putin. "We do not believe that a close relationship with Russia has any negative impact on our relationship with the US," said Saudi Foreign Minister Adel al Jubeir.

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