The End of the Syrian Civil War by Thomas R. McCabe
Middle East Quarterly
Summer 2019 (view PDF)
https://www.meforum.org/58684/are-the-syria-insurgencies-truly-over
By Jerrod A. Laber, RealClearDefense: "The Trump administration is trying to stave off a Turkish invasion of northeast Syria, The Washington Post reports, which could begin within the next two weeks."
By Roger McDermott, Eurasia Daily Monitor: “The leadership of the Russian Armed Forces at the defense ministry and General Staff levels is exploiting lessons learned from the country’s recent involvement in foreign conflicts as part of a process to enhance military capability."
The decision to sell the missile system to Turkey is now seen as a win for Moscow, but this doesn't mean it came easy. And there are still potential downsides for Russia.
By Shay Attias, July 26, 2019
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY: Russian soft power efforts in the Middle East are bearing fruit, as many young Arabs now view Moscow as an ally and the US as unreliable. Russia wants to build more ties with the Muslim world and views Trump’s presidency as an opportunity in that regard. This ambition is tempered somewhat by the Muslim jihadist threat in Russian areas and, of course, the painful legacy of the war in Afghanistan.
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The Jerusalem Post
July 18, 2019
https://www.meforum.org/58979/the-syrian-sideshow
Turkey, U.S. Agree to Coordinate on Syrian Buffer Zone
By Ayla Jean Yackley, Al-Monitor: "Turkey and the United States appear to have sidestepped a confrontation over northeast Syria by agreeing to jointly establish a buffer zone after protracted negotiations had inflamed tensions, prompting Ankara to threaten to invade an area where U.S. troops are present.
Turkey’s Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu aired his grievances with the proposed US safe zone in Syria in front of the press on Wednesday. "New US proposals on a Syria safe zone are not at all satisfactory for Turkey," he said. "We have the impression that the US is procrastinating. Cavusoglu said Turkey and the United States have not agreed on the size of the zone, who will control it or whether the Kurdish People’s Protection Units (YPG) would be allowed to operate inside. Ankara considers the YPG to be a terrorist group and has threatened an offensive against the Syrian Kurds if safe zone talks fail. Read More
The Many Implicationsby Eyal Zisser
Middle East Quarterly
Summer 2019 (view PDF)
https://www.meforum.org/58648/end-of-syrian-civil-war-implications
Following the violation of the cease-fire in Idlib, Russia faces the need to manage the breakout of new hostilities and fix the deal with Turkey.