Syria, scene of rising foreign interests

Syria's civil war, which since 2011 has confronted the regime of President Bachar al-Asad against the rebels already entrenched in Idlib, continues and various foreign nations with interests in the country, such as Iran, Russia and Turkey, continue to play a power game on the ground. The last episode has been the visit of Mohammad Javad Zarif, Iranian Minister of Foreign Affairs, to Syrian territory to meet with President Al-Asad; together with the sending of more Turkish military troops and the presentation in society of a new and powerful Russian tank to instill fear or respect within the conflict. Therefore, the mutual challenge continues without considering the current difficult situation in the world due to the health crisis of the disease COVID-19, nor the delicate moment that the refugees are living due to the war. 

In this context, the Iranian diplomat Mohamad Javad Zarif visited Damascus on Monday, where he met with the Syrian President Bashar al-Asad, for the first time in a year, at the height of the crisis over the coronavirus and with the peace process in Astana paralyzed. The latter dialogue was sponsored by Russia, Turkey and Iran to unblock the conflict in the Arab nation.

During the meeting, in which both were seen wearing a mask, they spoke of the latest developments in the Astana process and in reference to the Constitutional Committee for the drafting of a Magna Carta for Syria, without giving details of the content, according to an official statement from the Presidency.
 

At this point, the declared objective of Al-Asad and its main ally, Vladimir Putin's Russia, is to put an end to the insurgent opposition, which he accuses of harboring important elements of jihadist terrorism, in order to carry out a national constituent process. 

The process for the drafting of the Constitutional Committee for the Drafting of the Syrian Constitution, which could put an end to the war in the country and which was scheduled to be resumed in the coming months after being suspended because of disagreements between the Syrian parties, continues open, although the talks are still paralyzed without giving any reason so far.

During the one-day visit, Zarif and Al-Asad discussed "Turkey's continued invasion of Syria's sovereignty and territory," either by "its direct occupation of territories or by the increase in the number of what they call observation points, which are basically military bases" in the province of Idlib, located in northwest Syria and the last opposition resistance bastion in the country.

Turkey now presents itself as a great rival to the Syrian government, after having occupied important areas in the north, on the border between Turkey and Syria, where the country presided by Recep Tayyip Erdogan made an incursion with the excuse of pursuing the Kurdish militias of the People's Protection Units (YPG), because he accused the Kurdish ethnic group of terrorist acts in the south of the Ottoman territory. The YPG are part of the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), circumstantially associated with Al-Asad to drive out the common Turkish enemy despite being circumscribed to the opposition to the official Syrian regime. 
 

Turkey agreed several months ago with the US Executive to create a security zone on the Turkish-Syrian border after the decision of US President Donald Trump to withdraw troops from Syrian territory, which left the way open for the Turks and Russians to position themselves in the areas left behind; this also meant abandoning the SDS to their fate, which proved to be very valuable for the US in defeating Daesh a year ago, when the siege of Al-Baghouz fell. Recep Tayyip Erdogan intended with this deal with the American giant the exit of the Kurds from this security area and also the rehousing of Syrian refugees who are on Ottoman soil. Although the North American nation returned to take positions because of its great interest in the Syrian oil areas. Thus, a large U.S. military detachment penetrated northeast Syria the first week of April with the aim of adding reinforcements and a huge amount of supplies. The U.S. army entered Al-Hasaka province from neighboring Iraq, moving into the district of Al-Malikiyah, near the border crossing in northeast Syria and northwest Iraqi Kurdistan.

Tension between Ankara and Damascus is high, despite the fact that Vladimir Putin and Recep Tayyip Erdogan signed a ceasefire for the Idlib area in early March. In that agreement, however, nothing was signed between Turkey and Syria, who haven't basically given up on their goals. On the one hand, Turkey continues to persecute the Kurdish elements, whom it accuses of terrorist actions against its interests; on the other hand, the Syrian government is trying to regain control of the whole country, failing to bring down the insurgents based in Idlib. 
 

In contacts last month between Ankara and Moscow to reach a solution to the dispute in Syria, Vladimir Putin didn't agree with Erdogan's demand for the withdrawal of Russian troops from Idlib, so the problem continues despite the fact that Turkey and Russia have been maintaining good economic and military relations in recent times (including the purchase by Turkey of the Russian S-400 air defense system, which was not welcomed by NATO).

Meanwhile, the nation headed by 'Sultan' Erdogan has continued to deploy military detachments in Syria. Dozens of Ottoman armed vehicles (with military and logistical equipment) have recently entered the northwestern area of Idlib where Turkish observation posts are located, as warned by the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (OSDH), a UK-based organization with an extensive network of informants on Syrian soil. The Observatory recently noted that as many as 2,635 Turkish military vehicles have entered Idlib since the Turkish-Russian-supported ceasefire came into effect on 5 March.
 

On the other hand, Iran is one of the Syrian government's great allies since the beginning of the conflict in 2011 and has Shiite troops and military advisors in the territory to support troops loyal to Al-Asad. A Persian interference that replicates the model of actions in other countries such as Iraq or Lebanon, where the Quds Forces, international division of the Revolutionary Guard (elite body of the Iranian Army) also extend their tentacles to impose Shiite interests in the Middle East. 

In fact, Iran has positioned itself in military bases throughout Syrian territory, especially outside Damascus and in Al-Bukamal, on the border with Iraq, and they are the target of continuous attacks by Israel, its great regional enemy. On Monday, Syria accused Israel of having launched "hostile" missiles against the city of Palmyra, in the center of the country, on the same day that Mohammad Yavad Zarif's visit to Al-Asad took place, according to the Syrian state news agency SANA. "The anti-aircraft defenses respond to the Israeli aggression in the sky over Palmyra and shoot down a number of hostile missiles," SANA said, without giving further details. So far, it is not known whether there have been any casualties, while Israel has not made any statement on the matter. Israeli attacks are common in Syrian territory, although on very few occasions the Israeli state confirms this type of operation.

Together with Turkey and Russia, Iran is sponsoring the Astana peace process in which they have even offered to mediate to resolve the differences between Ankara and Damascus when, in February, there was an upsurge of tension in the northwest that was settled with the aforementioned ceasefire between Turkey, supporter of the Syrian opposition, and Russia, ally of Damascus, implemented since March 6.

This cessation of hostilities continues, despite sporadic violations, although pressure continues to increase in the Syrian country without respecting the very difficult situation in the world today with the coronavirus pandemic, which has already left more than 169,000 dead and more than 2.4 million cases diagnosed worldwide (with three deaths and more than 60 officially recognized cases in Syria). And there is no room for relief for the refugees from the Syrian civil war, who are now reaching the number of 5.6 million displaced persons in the Middle East region (3.6 million in Turkey).

In this context, Zarif and Al-Asad criticized, according to the official note from the Syrian Presidency, that the coronavirus pandemic has been "politicized" by some Western countries, "led by the United States".

Before the meeting with Al-Asad, Zarif met with Syrian Foreign Minister Walid al-Mualem, in which they insisted on the "economic terrorism imposed on the peoples of the two countries", especially by the United States. In a clear reference to the sanctions imposed by the American giant on Iran on account of the denunciation of the noncompliance of the nuclear agreement signed by these countries together with the United Kingdom, Germany, France, China, Russia and the European Union (EU) in 2015 (JCPOA), which limited the Persian atomic program, especially in terms of weapons. An agreement that the US broke in 2018 by imposing harsh punishments against Iran. 

Among the most relevant sanctioning measures was the one related to the oil trade, the main source of Iranian financing, which hit the Persian economy hard; and to which President Hassan Rohani responded by threatening to continue dealing with his oil and to blockade the Strait of Ormuz, the main passage zone for world oil trade. Threats were followed by violence against cargo ships in Gulf waters and attacks even on oil and airport interests in Saudi Arabia (Iran's great rival and the main banner of the Sunni branch of Islam, as opposed to the Shiite one claimed by the Iranian nation). Offensives for which the regime of the ayatollahs was held responsible. 

Since the coronavirus crisis began, both Iran and Syria have consistently called for the lifting of economic sanctions to deal with the consequences of the pandemic. 

As a last striking detail of the escalation of tension in Syria, it is worth noting that Russia, a great ally of Bachar al-Asad, is carrying out tests on Syrian soil of the T-14 Armata tank, the most advanced of the Russian Armed Forces. The Russian Minister of Industry and Trade, Denis Manturov, informed about this test in statements made to the Rossiya channel. 
 

The ministerial representative didn't give details of the activities carried out by the new armored car, but he confirmed its presence in the Arab country. "Yes, they were in Syria. The tanks were sent to this country to consider all the particularities of their use in combat conditions," detailed Manturov. These tests, according to the official, will eventually contribute to forming the final configuration of the armed vehicle. Manturov also specified that the T-14s will be introduced to the Russian Army in 2021.