In northern Syria, Russian soldiers are patrolling between Turkish troops and those of Syrian dictator Bashar al-Assad, according to the Ministry of Defense in Moscow. According to a statement by the Ministry, units of the Russian military police are deployed near the city of Manbij.
Since last Wednesday, an internationally heavily criticized military offensive in Turkey is underway in the Syrian-Turkish border area. Turkey considers the Kurdish militia YPG, against which the offensive is running, as well as its political arm as terrorist organizations.
The YPG maintains close contacts with the banned Kurdish Workers' Party PKK, which is also on the terror list in the US and Europe. On the other hand, the militia is leading the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), which was an important US ally in the fight against the Islamic State (IS). The announced withdrawal of US troops by US President Donald Trump is seen as trigger for the escalation.
Russia's Syria Commissioner: Allow no direct confrontation
On Monday, Syrian government troops arrived from President al-Assad in the Kurdish-controlled north of the country. They are supported by Russia. The SDF had turned to Damascus and Russia for help after the announced withdrawal of US troops, but called the agreement a "painful compromise".
Russia's Syria representative Alexander Lavrentiev told the news agency Tass that Russia would not allow a direct confrontation between the Turkish and Syrian army. The Moscow Ministry of Defense communication is also "interacting" with Russia's military with the Turkish government. (Read more about Russia's Syria policy here.)
Syria's state-run news agency Sana said 150 US soldiers made their way from Manbijk to Iraq. The Russian Ministry of Defense also told the agency Interfax that the US troops had left Manbijk for Iraq. Videos circulating on social media show a Russian-speaking man moving across the grounds of an abandoned US military base in northern Syria.
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US sanctions are not as sharp as expected
The US imposed sanctions on Turkish ministers over the military offensive and called for an immediate ceasefire. US President Donald Trump wants to send his deputy Mike Pence to Ankara as soon as possible to mediate between the Kurds and the Turks.
Sanctions were imposed on Defense Minister Hulusi Akar, Energy Minister Fatih Donmez and Interior Minister Süleyman Soylu. Potential assets of those affected in the US are frozen. Trump also announced the increase of punitive tariffs on steel imports from Turkey to 50 percent. Negotiations on a trade agreement would be canceled "immediately".
The US sanctions, however, were not as sharp as expected. On Tuesday, Turkish stocks rallied from the slump the previous day. The recent political developments also left little mark on the foreign exchange market. The Turkish lira had even gained a bit against the US dollar at the start of the week. On Tuesday she gave in a bit.
Merkel calls for the end of the Turkish offensive
Chancellor Angela Merkel again called on Turkey to put an end to the military offensive. The mission brings "recognizable very much human suffering with it" and lead to new uncertainty with view of the IS, Merkel said after a meeting with the Norwegian head of government Erna Solberg in Berlin. Also in the NATO, to which Turkey belongs, the topic must be discussed.
According to other European countries, Britain also declared on Tuesday that there would be no more arms supplied to Turkey for the time being, which could be used for the military offensive in northern Syria. It will control exports very closely, said Foreign Minister Dominic Raab. The British government was "deeply disappointed" by the military offensive in Turkey.
Hungary, on the other hand, supports the offensive. It is "in Hungary's national interest" that Ankara solve the migration issue in the direction of Syria and not in the direction of Europe, said the Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto, according to the state Hungarian news agency MTI. Hungary is thus the only EU country that so openly supports Turkey's internationally criticized military offensive.
The Vice-Chairman of the FDP, Alexander Graf Lambsdorff, accused Europe of failure in a unified Turkey policy. An EU arms embargo must be enacted for the "duration of the fighting".
Deputy Leader of the Left Party, Sevim Dagdelen, also called for tough action against Turkey. "The federal government must declare a comprehensive arms embargo and immediately stop all financial and economic aid as well as the Hermes guarantees," said Dagdelen. Similarly expressed the group leader of the Greens, Katrin Göring Eckardt. She spoke of a "humanitarian catastrophe".
