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A spokesman for the Kremlin welcomed the recent deployment of the Syrian Arab Army (SAA) around the northern city of Manbij after the supposed withdrawal of the Kurdish People’s Protection Units (YPG).
“No doubt, this is a positive step towards stabilizing the situation,” Dmitry Peskov said, according to the Russian news agency TASS.
The Russian official added that the expansion of the zone controlled by Damascus government troops forces is “a positive trend.”
The SAA’s step was also praised by Iranian Foreign Ministry Spokesman, Bahram Qassemi, who said that the step is essential to resolve the protracted crisis in the war torn country.
“Emphasizing the need to respect the national sovereignty and the territorial integrity of Syria, the Islamic Republic of Iran welcomes the rise of the Syrian national flag in the city of Manbij and regards it as an important step to consolidate the sovereignty of the legitimate government of Syria and a new step to resolve the crisis in the country,” Qassemi said in a statement, according to the Iranian Tasnim news agency.
Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan questioned the deployment of the SAA in Manbij and described it as a “psychological operation.” However, he stressed that Turkey will not intervene in the city, if Kurdish forces withdraw for real.
Manbij is now witnessing one of the tensest stand-offs in the history of the Syrian war. While Turkey and its proxies are massing around the strategic city, many units of the SAA, Kurdish forces, local forces, US forces, Russian forces and even French forces are holding onto their positions inside Manbij and around it.
