俄罗斯外交部长谢尔盖拉夫罗夫(Sergey Lavrov)表示,莫斯科一再警告美国不要在叙利亚进行库尔德人的“实验”,暗示这只会以灾难告终。
在土耳其对叙利亚东北部的库尔德武装发动军事进攻后,拉夫罗夫周四告诉记者,克里姆林宫希望“这一局势尽快平静下来”Tass报道。
然而,拉夫罗夫也暗示,美国应对当前的混乱负责,这可能预示着新的人道主义危机在一个被八年多战争摧毁的国家。
土耳其总统雷杰普·塔伊普·埃尔多安周三发起了和平之春行动。该行动旨在叙利亚境内建立一个20英里的缓冲区,目前由库尔德人领导的叙利亚民主力量控制。
埃尔多安长期以来一直试图清除土耳其边境地区的恐怖组织,但美国军队的存在阻止了他。然而,周日,唐纳德·特朗普总统有效地命令美国士兵离开该地区绿色照明土耳其计划的进攻。
美国曾与自卫队并肩对抗伊斯兰国激进组织。库尔德人领导的部队清除了叙利亚东部的伊黎伊斯兰国战士,并从那以后继续对该组织进行扫荡和反叛乱行动。
拉夫罗夫周四表示,美国与自卫队的联盟总是会以失败告终。
他告诉记者:“多年来,我们一直警告美国人在那里进行的实验极其危险,他们试图以各种可能的方式让库尔德人和阿拉伯部落相互对立。”。
拉夫罗夫补充说:“我们警告过不要打库尔德牌,因为这不会有什么好处,我们在该地区拥有大量库尔德人社区的其他国家的同事也警告过我们。”。
俄罗斯军队正在叙利亚战斗,支持巴沙尔·阿萨德总统。最终,莫斯科希望叙利亚在阿萨德的控制下重新统一,但自卫队是实现这一目标的障碍。特朗普的撤军——如果美国人真的离开叙利亚——将会带来好处俄罗斯更大的杠杆把它放在主导地位来决定战争的结局。
拉夫罗夫表示,俄罗斯将致力于“土耳其和叙利亚之间对话的开始”,以及“大马士革和放弃极端主义和恐怖主义活动方法的库尔德组织之间的接触”
外交部长还表示,由于“与所有党派的良好关系”,俄罗斯将能够在叙利亚人和库尔德人之间发挥调解作用他补充道,“我们将看看如何开展这项业务。”
2019年3月23日,叙利亚巴古兹,叙利亚民主力量战士在宣布击败伊拉克和黎凡特伊斯兰国的仪式后举着美国国旗拍照。
RUSSIA SAYS IT WARNED U.S. NOT TO PLAY 'KURDISH CARD' IN SYRIA: 'THIS CAN COME TO NO GOOD'
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov has said that Moscow repeatedly warned the U.S. against its Kurdish "experiment" in Syria, suggesting it could only end in disaster.
After Turkey launched its military offensive against Kurdish forces in northeastern Syria, Lavrov told reporters Thursday that the Kremlin wants "this situation to calm down as soon as possible," state news agency Tass reported.
However, Lavrov also suggested that the U.S. was to blame for the current chaos, which could herald a fresh humanitarian crisis in a country ruined by more than eight years of war.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan launched Operation Peace Spring on Wednesday. The action seeks to establish a 20-mile buffer zone inside Syrian territory, currently held by the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF).
Erdogan has long sought to clear what Turkey considers terrorist groups from its border region, but the presence of U.S. troops there has stopped him. On Sunday, however, President Donald Trump ordered U.S. soldiers out of the area, effectively green-lighting the planned Turkish assault.
The U.S. had fought alongside the SDF against the Islamic State militant group. The Kurdish-led force cleared ISIS fighters from all of eastern Syria and has since continued mopping-up and anti-insurgency operations against the group.
Lavrov said Thursday that the U.S. alliance with the SDF was always going to end badly.
"We have been for years warning about an extreme danger of the experiment that the Americans were conducting there, trying to set the Kurds and Arab tribes against each other in every possible way," he told reporters.
"We were warning against playing the Kurdish card, as this can come to no good, of which we were also warned by our colleagues from other countries in the region having large Kurdish communities," Lavrov added.
Russian forces are fighting in Syria in support of President Bashar al-Assad. Ultimately, Moscow desires a reunited Syria under Assad's control, but the SDF is a barrier to that goal. Trump's withdrawal—if Americans do indeed leave Syria—will give Russia greater leverage and put it in a prime position to shape the war's endgame.
Lavrov said Russia will be working toward "the beginning of a dialogue between Turkey and Syria" and "contacts between Damascus and Kurdish organizations that renounce extremism and terrorist methods of activity."
The foreign minister also suggested Russia would be able to play a mediating role between the Syrians and the Kurds, thanks to "its good relations with all parties." He added, "We'll see how to go about this business."
Syrian Democratic Forces fighters pose for a photo with the American flag after a ceremony announcing the defeat of ISIS on March 23, 2019 in Baghouz, Syria.