MESOP NEWS FOCUS IRAN : Zarif Puts Pressure on Syria’s Leading Kurdish Groups PKK/PYD (SDF)

By Scott Lucas – eaworldview – 19 Febr 2018 – Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif has put pressure on Syria’s leading Kurdish groups as they face a Turkish-rebel offensive and isolation within the country’s 83-month conflict.As he arrived in Moscow for talks with Russian officials and a conference at the Valdai Institute, Zarif avoided any direct reference to the Syrian Kurdish Democratic Party (PYD) and its YPG militia. But he aimed at them through the US, which has provided essential political and military support for Kurdish gains in northern Syria, particularly through the defeat of the Islamic State, since 2015.

Zarif said “the latest stage of the US presence in Syria is a very dangerous one” and asserted that “the Americans are engaged in activities in Syria through a pre-calculated policy, trying to occupy parts of the Syrian territory”. He declared that the US “misuse of certain Syrian groups as its army infantrymen can leave long term effects on the historical memory of the Syrian people and cause tension inside that country”.

Iran has always been cautious about the establishment of a de facto Kurdish autonomy, despite the removal of ISIS from all its major positions in Syria. During the winter, the Supreme Leader’s top aide, Ali Akbar Velayati, issued statements of support for a possible pro-Assad assault on the Kurdish area, as frontlines were established in Deir ez-Zor Province in eastern Syria.

Tehran’s officials see the US using the Kurdish groups as part of Washington’s approach to limit Iranian influence in Syria. Zarif said, “The only thing the White House officials are thinking about is how to confront Iran in the region and this has given shape to a very dangerous policy.”

Further impetus to the Iranian position has been given by the Turkish-rebel offensive, launched on January 18, upon the Kurdish canton of Afrin in northwest Syria. Iran is allied with Russia and Turkey in political maneuvers including eight sets of talks in the Kazakh capital Astana. www.mesop.de