Tension escalates in N. Syria as Russia speaks about roadmap to normalize Syria-Türkiye ties

DAMASCUS, June 15 (Xinhua)-- Tension has been escalating in northern Syria between Turkish forces and Kurdish militants as Russia speaks about a roadmap to restore Syria-Türkiye ties.

Tension has been brewing over the last three weeks in areas east of the Euphrates, which are largely controlled by the Kurdish militia. Turkish drones intensified attacks on fighters of the Kurdish People's Protection Units, which are the backbone of the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF). Both are regarded as terrorist groups by Türkiye.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said on Thursday that the Turkish drone attacks on the Kurdish military sites in the countryside of the northern province of Aleppo intensified on Wednesday, with seven rounds of attacks targeting four SDF sites.

The war monitor said Russian and Turkish military units met early Thursday and decided to cancel a joint patrol near Kurdish-controlled areas in Syria's northeastern province of Hasakah due to the current escalation of tension.

In tandem with the situation on the ground, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Mikhail Bogdanov told reporters on Wednesday in Moscow that the draft roadmap for normalizing relations between Ankara and Damascus, proposed by Moscow, is now ready, according to Russian News Agency TASS.

"Our next task is to discuss it with our partners and progress further in this work. Hopefully, the Astana meeting will enable us to make major progress," said Bogdanov, referring to the meeting in the Kazakh capital of Astana on June 21, which will be attended by deputy foreign ministers of Russia, Syria, Türkiye, and Iran.

On May 10, foreign ministers of the four countries met in Moscow and agreed to prepare a roadmap for streamlining relations between Damascus and Ankara.

In an interview with Syria's pro-government al-Watan newspaper earlier this week, Alexander Efimov, the Russian ambassador to Syria, lauded the progress made in restoring Syrian-Turkish relations.

"The results achieved so far are positive. The road, regardless of its length, always begins with the first step, and this step is often the most difficult and most important (one)," he said, pointing out "the transition of Syria and Türkiye to direct public contacts after more than 10 years of frozen bilateral relations is in itself a great success."

Before Russia announced the readiness of the roadmap, Syrian President Bashar al-Assad said on Monday during a meeting with a visiting Iranian official that Syria's main goals in the upcoming Syria-Türkiye normalization talks are Turkish withdrawal from Syrian territory and the fight against terrorism, Syria's state news agency SANA reported.

Both Iran and Russia have been mediating talks to normalize relations between Syria and Türkiye recently, arranging several meetings on the level of defense ministers and foreign ministers.

Since late last year when Russia and Iran were paving the way for the Syria-Türkiye negotiations, the Syrian government has prioritized the withdrawal of the Turkish forces from Syria as a prerequisite for normalization of its ties with Türkiye.