Moscow accused Washington of taking “dangerous and unilateral steps” that undermine Syria’s integrity. Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, in a joint press conference with his Belgian counterpart Didier Reynders, warned of the continued occupation of large swathes of lands across the northern and eastern parts of Syria, which Moscow’s top diplomat asserted, created a so-called “quasi-state” in a large part of the war-torn-country.
The comments by the Russian foreign minister came after the United States decided to continue its backing of the Syrian Democratic Forces, SDF, which have managed to secure control of large parts of Syria after defeating and ousting the Islamic State. That said, the announcement by the Pentagon, in which it requested 300 million dollars, earmarked for “train and equip activities”, and another 250 million dollars for “border security requirements,” has enraged Washington’s NATO-ally Turkey, which is currently embroiled in a military operation against the Kurdish YPG militia, the most powerful group within the SDF alliance. Ankara continues to warn Washington of its ongoing support for the YPG, which it claims has clear connection to the Kurdistan Workers Party, PKK, an outlawed group that is internationally recognized as a terrorist organization. The decision to continue its support of the Syrian Democratic Force has brought U.S.-Turkish relations to an all-time-low, with President Recep Tayyip Erdogan declaring that the America’s funding of Turkey’s enemies will affect Ankara’s future moves.
Turkey last month launched an incursion into Syria, which it calls “Operation Olive Branch” to sweep the YPG from its southern border around the province of Afrin. It has also threatened to press on to the Syrian town of Manbij, under the control of a YPG-led force, and has warned American troops stationed there not to get in the way. Both U.S. Secretary of Defense James Mattis and U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson have termed Turkey’s operation in Syria’s Afrin province as a “distraction” of the International effort to combat the Islamic State, which the American top diplomat asserted – ahead of his scheduled trip to Ankara – has yet to be completely eradicated.