Steffen Seibert, spokesman for the German cabinet, said the resolution of the crisis in Syria "is not limited to Russia and Turkey."

“Europe must work on these events developing on the borders of our continent,” he added.

According to a representative of the German leadership, the government of the Federal Republic of Germany is already analyzing an agreement that was approved on the eve by the presidents of Russia and Turkey, Vladimir Putin and Recep Tayyip Erdogan. Seibert emphasized that Berlin is going to discuss a number of issues related to the document with the Russian Federation and the Turkish Republic.

Recall that on October 22, following talks with Erdogan in Sochi, Vladimir Putin announced the adoption of fateful decisions on Syria. Turkish and Russian leaders agreed on a memorandum of understanding that delineates the control zones of the Turkish and Syrian military in the region. According to this document, the official government of Syria regains control over most of the country's border with Turkey, with the exception of the zone where Ankara carries out the operation "Source of Peace", between Tel Abyad and Ras Al Ain.

According to this memorandum, Kurdish armed groups should be withdrawn from the border with Turkey for 30 km. Moreover, the Russian military police should follow the progress of this process. When the move is completed, the Russian military police, together with their Turkish counterparts, will begin to patrol the border zone together.

German offer

Earlier, German Minister of Defense Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer, also heading the ruling party, the Christian Democratic Union (CDU), proposed to create an international security zone in Syria with the participation of Turkey, Russia and European countries. This statement was made the day before the meeting between Putin and Erdogan in Sochi. According to Carrenbauer, the initiative was agreed with German Chancellor Angela Merkel. Now the minister intends to discuss it with her NATO colleagues at a ministerial meeting to be held October 24-25 in Brussels.

According to the head of the German defense department, the security zone under international control will continue the fight against IS * in Syria and will ensure the "return of refugees." In addition, in her opinion, it is not worth giving up the solution of questions about the fate of this region to Moscow and Ankara.

“You should not just say that Europe should not be an outside observer. It is also necessary to make your own proposals, giving an impetus to the discussion, ”Euronews quotes Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer as saying.

Although, judging by the statement of the German Minister of Defense, her initiative is primarily aimed at a political solution to the Syrian crisis, she did not exclude the participation of the Bundeswehr in the peacekeeping mission in Syria, noting that the issue of sending German troops abroad is the prerogative of the Bundestag.

  • Bundeswehr military personnel
  • Reuters
  • © Fabrizio Bensch

In turn, Norbert Röttgen, head of the Bundestag’s committee on international affairs and party member Kramp-Karrenbauer, in an interview with BILD, supported the possible participation of the German military contingent in the peacekeeping mission in Syria.

According to Reuters sources, the German defense minister told the government that she intends to secure the mandate of the UN Security Council to implement her idea. Now Germany is one of the non-permanent members of the Security Council.

Mixed reaction

Kramp-Karrenbauer’s idea of ​​a security zone under international control in Syria was perplexed by her closest colleague, Foreign Minister Heiko Maas.

He said that he did not appreciate SMS diplomacy, hinting that he had received a notice of the Minister of Defense’s plan in such an unconventional way. Maas, a member of the Social Democratic Party of Germany, also called the idea of ​​Kramp-Karrenbauer the CDU party initiative. According to him, the plan caused irritation in the foreign policy partners of Berlin.

Angela Merkel, in turn, supported the Minister of Defense, who is considered the main candidate for the role of successor to the German chancellor as head of government.

Press Secretary of the President of Russia Dmitry Peskov said on October 22 that the proposal of the German Minister of Defense "needs to be studied." The next day, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Vershinin told reporters that Moscow does not see "the need for any additional measures" in addition to the Russian-Turkish agreements.

I did not receive the plan of the German Minister of Defense and the unequivocal support from Paris.

At the same time, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said on October 23 that he had discussed her initiative with Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer.

  • NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg
  • Reuters
  • © Francois Lenoir

“I welcome the fact that the NATO allies have proposals on how to move forward,” the Alliance’s Secretary General emphasized.

The US representative to NATO, Kay Bailey Hutchison, also welcomed the proposals from Berlin. However, according to her, Washington will not join the peacekeeping forces in Syria if they appear there.

At the same time, as Alexander Kamkin, a leading researcher at the Center for German Studies at the Institute of Europe of the Russian Academy of Sciences, suggested in an interview with RT, the Kramp-Karrenbauer initiative was “agreed with the American allies.” The opposition from the German Foreign Ministry is explained as contradictions within the ruling coalition of Germany.

“By the joint efforts of Russia and Turkey, the US military in Syria gave the gate a turn. Berlin's statement is an attempt by Americans to get in a window after they were put out the door. What will the introduction of some peacekeeping contingent of European countries into Syria mean in practice? In fact, these are NATO troops, therefore, they are allies of the Americans in the military-political bloc, ”Kamkin explained.

At the same time, the expert did not exclude that the security zone proposed by the possible successor to Merkel in Syria is her personal political initiative.

“This version is also not worth rejecting, because Mrs. Carrenbauer is a person who makes decisions quickly enough,” the political scientist believes.

“Do not interfere with restoring order”

It is worth noting that the proposal of the German Minister of Defense to create a security zone under international control in Syria came against the backdrop of new attempts by France and Germany to play their part in resolving the crisis. French President Emmanuel Macron said on October 18 that he had decided "to meet with President Erdogan in London in the coming weeks with Prime Minister Johnson and Chancellor Merkel." The French president also called the withdrawal of US troops from Syria a “blunder” of the West and NATO.

The next day, Angela Merkel discussed the situation in Syria with Vladimir Putin, and on October 21, at the initiative of Paris, a telephone conversation was held on the same topic between Putin and Macron. All this time in Berlin and Paris, they condemned the actions of Turkey in Syria and even imposed an embargo on the supply of weapons to Ankara.

“Apparently they did not expect that Turkey and Russia could come to an agreement so quickly and efficiently,” Yuri Zinin, a leading researcher at MGIMO, said in a conversation with RT. “Perhaps they want to show their initiative, their strength, not to allow Russia and Turkey to act without the participation of a third party, Europe.”

However, as the expert emphasizes, Europeans in Syria cannot take any real steps without interaction with Russia and Turkey. According to Alexander Kamkin, a more effective contribution to the normalization of the situation in Syria would be the assistance of the European powers to restore the country.

  • Russian military police on the Tiger armored vehicles first organized a patrol in the city of Mumbridge in the eastern part of Aleppo province
  • © Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation

“The most valuable contribution they could make is not to interfere with the restoration of constitutional order in the country,” the expert notes. “In addition, Syria is now facing an urgent issue of economic recovery, which will require huge funds.”

Yuri Zinin, in turn, recalled that previously Moscow had already offered European countries to invest in the restoration of Syria.

“No such positive response was received, although there were some hints that they were not opposed. Nobody seemed to refuse, but did not contribute, the assistance was tied to the implementation of a number of political requirements, ”the expert emphasized.

* “Islamic State” (ISIS, ISIS) - the organization was recognized as terrorist by decision of the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation of December 29, 2014.