ISIS update 11/25/2017..US, Turkey agree to jointly fight against ISIS, PKK

US and Turkey agree to jointly fight against ISIS & Kurdish PKK

Trump Reportedly Tells Erdogan US Will Cease Arming Syrian Kurds

http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2017-11-24/trump-reportedly-tells-erdogan-us-will-cease-arming-syrian-kurds

Just after Putin hosted trilateral talks on Syria and the Middle East in Sochi involving Russia, Iran, and Turkey, President Trump spent part of his Friday after Thanksgiving on the phone with Turkey’s Erdogan. While the two discussed Syria and other regional issues, it appears they broached the delicate and contentious topic of US support to Syrian Kurdish fighters (namely, the Kurdish YPG, which forms the core of the Syrian Democratic Forces). The call came amidst a flurry of diplomatic activity over the Middle East driven by the Kremlin, and follows a lengthy Trump-Putin phone call on Tuesday.

Though the details of the call are still unclear, Trump outlined what was to be generally discussed in a tweet, and said this morning, “Will be speaking to President Recep Tayyip Erdogan of Turkey this morning about bringing peace to the mess that I inherited in the Middle East. I will get it all done, but what a mistake, in lives and dollars (6 trillion), to be there in the first place!”

Though not verified by the US side, Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said Trump told Erdogan during Friday’s call that the US will cease supplying weapons to the Syrian Kurdish fighters, according to the AP. Turkey has long considered Syrian Kurdish militant groups to be terrorists, and Erdogan reportedly insisted at the Sochi summit that Syrian Kurds be excluded from all negotiations over the future of Syria on the grounds that they have links to the PKK. However, it is unlikely that a lasting political settlement for Syria can be negotiated and successfully held without Syrian Kurdish input.

But should Turkey’s current claims that Trump vowed to end US military support to Syrian Kurds be confirmed, it would be a major development impacting the lasting arrangement of Syria and the war’s outcome. “Mr. Trump clearly stated that he had given clear instructions and that the YPG won’t be given arms and that this nonsense should have ended a long time ago,” Cavusoglu said at a news conference shortly after the call. And Erdogan presented an upbeat assessment of the call, tweeting shortly after: “I had a fruitful phone conversation with the U.S. President Donald Trump today.”

We previously explained that that US strategy and support to the Kurds was predicated on the Pentagon forcing itself into a place of affecting the Syrian war’s outcome and final apportionment of power: the best case scenario for American power and planners in the region being permanent US bases under a Syrian Kurdish federated zone with favored access to Syrian oil doled out by Kurdish partners. But it appears the Kurds may already be cutting separate deals and are in secret talks with Syria and Russia, which means a US exit from Syria could be forced sooner rather than later. According to University of Oklahoma Middle East expert Joshua Landis, the Kurds and the Syrian government are now sharing oil revenues from disputed oil fields controlled by Kurdish groups in some parts of Syria’s east.

Landis confirmed last week that “the Syrian gov, Syrian Kurds, and Arab tribes share oil revenues already. SAG gets 65% of revenues in Rmeilan field. PYD gets 20% (powerful Kurdish confederation in Syria’s north: the Democratic Union Party). Arab forces get 15%.” Landis also posted the question, “is this the model for a future deal between Kurds, Arabs, and the Syrian Government in northern Syria?” Should the White House confirm a commitment of US disengagement from the SDF with a concrete timeline, it would represent a monumental shift in policy, and would further ensure that Russia remains in the driver’s seat concerning the future of Syria and the Levant.

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The Syrian Arab Army came under a heavy attack last week near the strategic vehicle base in the Eastern suburbs of Damascus… Led by Harakat Ahrar Al-Sham the militants forces began their offensive by seizing the Syrian Arab Army’s command post near the vehicle base… Following the capture of the command post the militants repeatedly attempted to seize the vehicle base but were beat back by the Syrian Arab Army’s elite Republican Guard… The Syrian Arab Army would eventually recapture all the territory they lost to Ahrar Al-Sham militants, including the command post they conceded earlier in the week… The Republican Guard released footage this week showing their forces around the Vehicle base after defeating the Ahrar Al-Sham’s militant offensive…

Footage has emerged of the National Defense Forces deploying the M-270 Multiple Launch Rocket System (MLRS) against Jihadist forces in the Northeastern countryside of Hama… The large missiles were launched by the National Defense Forces towards Balil, once an Alawite Town before its inhabitants fled in 2013,where large numbers of Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham militants are believed to be stationed… On this flank, the National Defense Forces is working closely together with elements of the 4th Mechanized Division and Qalamoun Shield Division, ultimately looking to reach and retake Abu Dahur Airbase through a series of pinces, thus establishing a launching pad for further counter-insurgency operations in Neighboring Idlib…

The Syrian Arab Army and their Allies have opened new axis in the Southern countryside of Aleppo, aiming to advance towards Idlib administrative borders against the Al-Qaeda’s linked Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham formerly Jabhat Al-Nusra… The lens of the war media team accompanied the operations of the Syrian Arab Army’s and their Allies in the Southeastern Aleppo countryside, and documented the advance of the forces and their control of Sheikh Mohammed hill and a number of other ruling points Southwestern off Khanazir/Khanasser… The main clashes are taking place in the villages of Al-Rashadiyah and Al-Hajara near the Government-held Town of Khanasser… The main goal of the advancing Government forces is to expand the buffer zone along the Ithriyah-Khanasser-Aleppo highway… This will allow to shorten the front line in the area,and to secure supplies to the strategic Government-held city of Aleppo… The scenes show intense shelling ahead of the Syrian Arab Army’s troops advance…

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Farsnews

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