Intel: Why a Military Confrontation Between Turkey and the Kurds in Syria Might Be Good News for Russia

... — agreement to impose a temporary cease-fire in Idlib that would help Turkey free some Syrian opposition forces for their deployment to the Euphrates area. Grigory Lukyanov, Ruslan Mamedov: Russia and Turkey: Approaches to Regional Security in the Middle East The rationale seems to be that the start of Turkish military operation may in fact benefit Moscow. The calculation is that once Turkey launches its assault and the Americans are unable to provide a cover for them, the Kurds may turn to Russia, empowering Moscow to try to create the conditions for yet another attempt at a rapprochement between the Kurds and Bashar al-Assad’s government. Until now, Russia sees the Kurds as having adopted “maximalist positions” ...