Trump’s Syria withdrawal a ‘lottery win’ for Putin

There might be chaos in the Middle East, but Russia says it’s a win for Vladimir Putin. This is how Russian media see the Syrian crisis.

A political analysist from a Russian-backed tabloid has slammed Donald Trump’s abrupt decision to withdraw US troops from northern Syria as “reckless” and has deemed the move a huge win for Russia.

Headlined Putin has won the lottery, the unexpected triumph of Russia in the Middle East, Mikhail Rostovsky started his piece for the Moskovsky Komsomolets by saying “those who are certain that Trump is of no use to Russia, should think again.”

In his is scathing assessment of Trump’s decision to withdraw US forces from Syria, which was followed by a bombardment of Turkish forces, Rotovsky said the move had strengthened Moscow’s “already rather strong political position” in the region.

“I have racked my brains trying to understand why Trump made this possible by kindly withdrawing most of his troops from Syria,” he wrote.

“What Washington got out of this strange move is completely unclear. To the contrary, what Moscow gained from this is self-evident.

“Trump’s mistake in Syria is the unexpected ‘lottery win’ that further strengthened Moscow’s position in the Middle East and undermined America’s prestige as a rational political player and a reliable partner.”

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Or, as a headline on the front page of the daily Moskovsky Komsomolets puts it: “Putin Won the Lottery.” pic.twitter.com/HIW1yLHnnT

— Anton Troianovski (@antontroian) October 16, 2019

The president himself felt his decision to leave Syria was a very smart choice, one that would benefit the United States in the long run.

“I viewed the situation on the Turkish border with Syria to be, for the United States, strategically brilliant. Our soliders are out of there, our soliders are totally safe,” Trump said.

Rostovsky, however, said the move showed America’s waning influence in the region.

“The huge giant called America has got itself lost in broad daylight,” he said.

“Trump’s administration can’t keep up with events.”

“Trump made this possible by kindly withdrawing most of his troops from Syria”. Picture: Nicholas Kamm/AFP

Defense Secretary Mark Esper says that under the current plan all U.S. troops leaving Syria will go to western Iraq and the military will continue to conduct operations against the Islamic State group to prevent its resurgence.

Speaking to reporters traveling with him to the Middle East, Esper did not rule out the idea that U.S. forces would conduct counterterrorism missions from Iraq into Syria. But he said those details will be worked out over time. His comments were the first to specifically lay out where American troops will go as they leave Syria and what the counter-IS fight could look like. Esper said he has spoken to his Iraqi counter part about the plan to shift the more than 700 troops leaving Syria into western Iraq.

Secretary of Defense Mark Esper. Picture: AP/Manuel Balce Ceneta

A senior Syrian Kurdish official says his forces will pull back from a border area in accordance with a US-brokered deal after Turkey allowed the evacuation of its remaining fighters and civilians from a besieged town.

Redur Khalil, a senior Syrian Democratic Forces official, said on Saturday the plan for evacuation from the town of Ras al-Ayn is set for the following day, if there are no delays.

He says only after that will his force pull back from a 120km area between the towns of Ras al-Ayn and Tal-Aybad. It will withdraw and move back from the border 30km.

Turkey-backed Syrian fighters walk in a street near a position that they are holding in the Syrian border town of Ras al-Ain. Picture: Nazeer Al-khatib/AFP

This is the first time the Kurdish force has publicly acknowledged it will withdraw from the border, saying it has co-ordinated it with the Americans. The agreement has not specified the area of its pullback.

Previous agreements between the US and Turkey over a “safe zone” along the Syria-Turkish border floundered over the diverging definitions of the area. Khalil said a partial evacuation happened earlier Saturday from Ras al-Ayn after much stalling and with US co-ordination.

Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan said he would press on with Turkey’s offensive into northeastern Syria and “crush the heads of terrorists” if a deal with Washington on the withdrawal of Kurdish fighters from the area was not fully implemented.

Just hours after troops were pulled from the area, US conducted air strikes on one of its own bases to stop its equipment from falling into the wrong hands.

NBC News foreign affairs analyst Brett McGurk said the bombing of formerly held positions to prevent their seizure was a “break glass” procedure representing an “extreme worst case scenario”.

Trump has no idea what’s happening. US personnel have been scrambling to evacuate positions surrounded by hostile Turkish-backed opposition forces. They are evacuating under duress and then bombing positions so nobody can seize them. https://t.co/buNKcHLEhi

— Brett McGurk (@brett_mcgurk) October 16, 2019

Earlier this month, US Defense Secretary Mark Esper announced President Donald Trump had ordered the partial withdrawal of US troops from northern Syria, opening the door for neighbouring Turkey to begin attacking Kurdish-led forces occupying the region.

The Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) — an alliance primarily led by Kurdish militias — had been important allies in the fight against ISIS, despite ties to the Kurdistan Worker’s Party (PKK), which is considered a terrorist organisation by Turkey, the US, and 29 other nations.

The withdrawal process has not been expedited and expanded, with Secretary Esper announcing last Sunday that the US would withdraw all of its roughly 1,000 troops from the region.

A U. S. Air Force F-15 fighter jet takes off from Incirlik Air Base near Adana, Turkey.

Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erodgan fired off a fresh warning to “crush” Kurdish forces as both sides traded accusations of violating a US-brokered five-day ceasefire in northeastern Syria.

Conflict is reportedly continuing in the area despite the US brokered five-day ceasefire announced on Thursday.

There have been reports of shelling being heard near the border as well as ground skirmishes.

Kurdish authorities said at least 218 civilians, including 18 children, had been killed in Syria since the offensive started.

— With Wires