Politics

US envoys visit northeast Syria, Kurdistan Region, Germany

Amb. James Jeffrey visited northeast Syria where he held "separate meetings with senior officials of the Syrian Democratic Forces," a statement from the State Department explained.

Laurie Mylroie 2020/09/22 05:35

middle east Syria SDF Kurdistan Peshmerga United States

WASHINGTON DC (Kurdistan 24) – The US State Department announced on Monday that Amb. James Jeffrey, Special Representative for Syria Engagement and Special Envoy to the Global Coalition to Defeat ISIS, accompanied by Joel Rayburn, Special Envoy for Syria, are visiting the Kurdish regions of Syria and Iraq, before traveling to Germany.

Jeffrey visited northeast Syria on Sunday, where he held “separate meetings with senior officials of the Syrian Democratic Forces, the negotiating delegations of the ongoing intra-Kurdish dialogue, and with ranking council members and tribal leaders from the Deir ez-Zor region,” a statement from the State Department explained.

Significantly, no mention was made of any stop in Baghdad or Ankara, underscoring the specifically Kurdish orientation of Jeffrey’s trip.

Local reports said that Jeffrey met with the two principle Kurdish groups, the PYNK (Kurdish National Unity Parties) and ENKS (Kurdish National Council), to advance efforts at reconciliation, which the US has been promoting.

“Jeffrey’s team is trying to align the Kurds in northeast Syria in such a way as to set the conditions for a unified ethnic bloc that can stabilize this region and stand as a unified front against Assad,” Nicholas Heras, of Washington’s Institute for the Study of War, told Kurdistan 24.

While the US has long seen Iraq’s Kurds as playing an important role in the politics of the region, Jeffrey’s trip appears to mark the first time that US diplomacy suggests the same for Syria’s Kurds.

Until this point, Syrian Kurds were recognized as valuable military partners in the campaign against the so-called Islamic State. However, no political status seemed to accompany that recognition. Until recently, the statements of State Department officials seemed to suggest that the entire Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria (AANES), the most politically successful and stable part of Syria, was, politically, to be dealt within the context of the broader Syrian opposition.

Thus, it was as if US policy remained frozen in 2015, when UN Security Council Resolution 2254, which lays out a roadmap for Syria’s future—negotiations to establish a political transition, followed by free and fair elections—was written.

It did not take account of developments in the five years since—above all, the political success of the AANES. That, however, looks like it may be changing.

While in Syria, Jeffrey also “expressed the United States’ appreciation for the many sacrifices the people of Syria have made” in fighting ISIS, even as he “emphasized the need for continued cooperation and coordination” in order “to ensure the enduring defeat of ISIS.”

Jeffrey also stressed America’s continued commitment to the area. The US “will remain closely linked with partners on the ground to coordinate both military and civilian efforts to ensure ISIS does not re-emerge,” Monday’s statement from the State Department explained, and “to achieve a peaceful resolution of the Syrian Conflict under UN Security Council Resolution 2254.”

Jeffrey’s visit and the articulation of that position followed immediately upon an announcement on Friday from US Central Command that it was sending additional forces to northeast Syria to strengthen the US military presence there.

Jeffrey “arrived in Erbil on Sunday evening, where he will have meetings with senior leaders from the Iraqi Kurdistan Region” in order “to discuss our continued cooperation to ensure the enduring defeat of ISIS in Iraq and Syria and our ongoing stabilization efforts in areas liberated from ISIS,” the State Department explained.

“In all of his meetings,” the Department’s statement continued, “Jeffrey will emphasize our continued support to the Iraqi Security Forces, including Peshmerga, in the fight against ISIS and reaffirm the United States’ commitment to a strong, sovereign, and prosperous Iraq.”

Jeffrey’s stop in Erbil follows the extended visit to Erbil last week of Amb. Matthew Tueller, during which the US envoy pledged an additional $250 million in security assistance for the Peshmerga.

And Tueller’s trip, itself, followed on the conclusion last month of the second round of the Strategic Dialogue between the US and Iraq. Generally, those discussions worked to Kurdish advantage, as the US stressed the need to abide by Iraq’s 2005 constitution, while it pressed Baghdad to resolve the budget issues with Erbil.

On Wednesday, Jeffrey will travel to Germany to discuss the situation in Syria and “our ongoing shared efforts to ensure an enduring defeat of ISIS,” the State Department said.

Editing by Karzan Sulaivany