Russian President Putin appears to be making another shrewd play for power in the Middle East by allying with the Kurds, in a step that undermines United States and Turkish policy in the region.
Russia-Turkey relations have deteriorated since the crisis over the downing of a Russian aircraft in November.
Syrian Kurds announced on Saturday that they would open their first foreign office in Moscow, with a ceremony to be held on Wednesday in a ceremony to be attended by Russian foreign ministry officials as well as representatives from several other countries, according to Abdulsalam Ali, the Syrian Kurdish envoy in Moscow.
“Our ambition is to rally support behind our Kurdish enclave in Syria through this office,” said Ali, according to Rudaw. He is also a member of the Democratic Unity Party (PYD), the main political organization in Syria’s Kurdish administrated areas.
The choice of Moscow and not Washington or Western Europe is telling.
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Update: Russia supporting Kurdish groups in Syria to Turkey’s detriment (Washington Times)
WNU Editor: I do not see such an alliance forming. The Kurds want an independent Kurdistan, but Russia's allies in the region (Iran, Syria, etc.) .... have no interest in seeing such a state arise. But the Kurds are providing a means for Russia to annoy and leverage Turkey, and I guess this is serving Russia's short term goals and objectives.