By Elizabeth Teoman
Turkey
has set conditions to besiege Syrian Kurdish-controlled Afrin City in northwest
Syria. Turkey will use its military position as leverage in tripartite
negotiations with Russia and Iran in Astana, Kazakhstan on March 16, 2018. Turkish forces and
Turkish-backed Syrian rebel forces seized positions that enable them to sever
the last ground line of communication to Afrin by March 15. The advance has
driven tens of thousands
of civilians toward terrain held by the Bashar al Assad regime and its allies.
Turkey’s likely primary goal in the Astana negotiations is to reach an
agreement with Russia and Iran over the future of Afrin and other Syrian
Kurdish People’s Protection Units (YPG)-held areas north of Aleppo City.
