Tabnak - As the top American, Turkish and Russian military commanders gathered together to discuss counter-terrorism measures in Iraq and Syria, some discussions have been raised about the reason behind Iran’s absence in this new multilateral initiative. Two optimistic and pessimistic analyzes could be raised to answer the question.
According to a report published by "New York Times”, the top American military officer met Tuesday with his Russian and Turkish counterparts to discuss how to avoid an unintended confrontation as forces from all three nations operate on an increasingly crowded battlefield in northern Syria.
The unusual three-way meeting was held in Antalya, Turkey. It brought together Gen. Joseph F. Dunford Jr., the US chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff; Gen. Valery V. Gerasimov, the chief of the Russian general staff; and their Turkish counterpart, Gen. Hulusi Akar.
The major purpose of the session was to discuss "the fight against all terrorist organizations in Syria” and "the importance of additional measures for de-conflicting operations,” a spokesman for General Dunford said in a statement.
The observes mention that one of the current complexities regarding the Syrian crisis and especially the coming operation to liberate Raqqa, the ISIS capital from the hands of the terrorist group, is whether the so-called Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) and generally the Kurdish groups will take part in the operation.
The US sees the Kurdish forces as its main reliable partner on the ground in Syria and want them to participate in the US-led operations in the country, especially in Raqqa. Russia also does not see any specific problem in cooperating with the Syrian Kurds and has already maintained some political and operational channels with them.
However, the main problem now is Turkey’s approach toward the Kurds in Northern Syria. Ankara has frequently declared that it would not accept the participation of the Kurdish group People’s Protection Units (PPU) in any anti-terrorist operation, whether in Raqqa or in the Iraqi city Mosul. Such a position has so far created a hurdle in the way of a firm multilateral anti-terrorist cooperation in Iraq and Syria. So, the recent trilateral meeting between the US, Turkey and Russia could be regarded as an attempt to overcome such disorganization.
Meanwhile, another point to consider regarding the meeting is that why Iran didn’t take part in such an important meeting? This is while Iran had previously showed itself as a partner for Moscow and even Ankara in Syria, the most important manifestation of which was the trilateral Moscow declaration that paved the way for renewed international talks on Syria in Astana, Kazakhstan.
In an optimistic analysis of the issue, it is said that considering the participation of the US top military commander on the one hand and Iran’s tense relations with Washington on the other, Tehran had decided not to take part in the meeting. However, in this case Iran had probably raised its ideas at the meeting through the Moscow channel.
In contrast, a pessimistic analysis tells that Iran wasn’t in fact invited to take part in the meeting and the three parts had decided to come to an agreement and follow up their common interests regardless of what Iran thinks or wants.
Nonetheless, there is also another analysis saying that Ankara was about to give up on some of its demands regarding Northern Syrian battlefield. Thus, Iran’s absence as a rival, could help convince Turkey to withdraw from some of its strict positions. Otherwise, Iran’s presence could reignite the rivalries between the two sides and further complicate the issues.
However, regardless of the makeup of the meetings and the participant countries, the mere fact that top military generals of three key countries involved in Syria gathered together and discussed the cooperation issues, could lead us to the conclusion that some important developments are underway in the Syrian battlefield.
