CC0 / Staff Sgt. Jacob Connor / 5th Special Forces Group (Airborne)
On Febraury 19, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov commented on the US policy regarding the conflict in Syria. Lavrov said that the US is attempting to to split Syria and create a quasi-state on the Euphrates River’s east bank. This is why Wahington is opposing to the return of the Damascus government there.
“They are actively investing and are forcing their allies to pay for redevelopment of that part of Syria. However, they are prohibiting their allies to invest in the restructuring of the infrastructure of the other parts of Syria which are controlled by the legitimate government,” Lavrov noted.
These remarks came amid reports that the Kurdish-dominatedSyrian Democratic Forces (SDF) are working to finalize their operation against ISIS in the Euphrates Valley.
Meanwhile, the SDF released a detailed statement on its plans after the elimination of the last ISIS-held pocket on the eastern bank of the Euphrates. The group demanded Damascus to recognize the “self-declared and effective autonomy in the northeast” and vowed to “liberate” the Afrin region from Turkish forces.
