Analysis: Russia Ramps Up Bid to Break Up U.S. Alliance With Syria's Kurds
Moscow promises to make the Kurds an integral part of the diplomatic process and partners in the Syrian government when the civil war ends, but the Kurds aren't biting
July 13 - Last week Russia vetoed a UN Security Council resolution under which all border crossings between Turkey and Syria would continue to let in aid for Syria’s Kurdish regions and areas under rebel control. Also, Russia and China opposed a compromise under which only two crossings would remain open for this purpose; they demanded only one, to be controlled by Syria.
This means that all aid shipments to Syria via Turkey will reach Damascus, to be distributed from there as the Assad regime and the Russian forces see fit.
Moscow promises to make the Kurds an integral part of the diplomatic process and partners in the Syrian government when the civil war ends, but the Kurds aren't biting
July 13 - Last week Russia vetoed a UN Security Council resolution under which all border crossings between Turkey and Syria would continue to let in aid for Syria’s Kurdish regions and areas under rebel control. Also, Russia and China opposed a compromise under which only two crossings would remain open for this purpose; they demanded only one, to be controlled by Syria.
This means that all aid shipments to Syria via Turkey will reach Damascus, to be distributed from there as the Assad regime and the Russian forces see fit.
Why there's not much the US can do in response to reports of Russian bounties on US troops in Afghanistan
- Reason 1, The Trump administration is facing increasing pressure to respond to reports that Russia paid bounties to Afghan militants to kill US troops in that country.
- Reason 2, But short of targeting Russian military intelligence with direct military action, the US has little political recourse when it comes to mopping up the mess created by the bounties, writes Candace Rondeaux is a senior fellow and professor at the Center on the Future of War.
- https://www.businessinsider.com/little-us-can-do-in-response-to-russia-afghanistan-bounties-2020-7
