For months we have witnessed the cat-and-mouse game Russia and the USA have been playing in North-East Syria. Last year, when the USA left the area and the Kurdish people to Turkish invasion, it was the Syrian army and the Russian-Turkish peace deal that saved the Kurds.
The USA, feeling threatened by this deal, decided to stay in the area, in an attempt to prevent Russia from gaining too much influence in Syria’s border areas and oil fields. After this, the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Council chose to make a deal with an American company to illegally sell Syria’s oil.
Under pressure by the USA, the Kurdish militia had refused to hand over certain promised military posts to their savior, the Russians. The US military has also returned its small armored vehicles, the Bradleys, to the area this week. This clearly shows the US is building up forces.
The Russians, angered, have told the SDF that they would withdraw from their bases in Til Temir, which has been the frontline with Turkish-led forces since 2019. This would expose the Kurdish population to another Turkish invasion. Speculations are made that Russia and Turkey might have come to an agreement which includes giving up Kurdish-held territory.
