“Nobody likes the Kurds as they think the Kurds are seeking to divide the country as well as the other countries in the region like Iraq and Turkey. Even different groups or people who do not like each other always seem to agree that at least they oppose the Kurds,” he said about the Kurdish policies of the regional countries.

A professor of political science at Tennessee Technological University who has written a number of books about Kurds and the Kurdish issue in the Middle East, Professor Gunter expressed his doubt that the US Kurdish policy will change in the future, noting that the situation in Syria depends a lot on the upcoming US presidency election. “Joe Biden (US Presidential Democratic Candidate) would probably take a more favorable position towards the Kurds if he is elected. He will not completely love the Kurds as there is restriction about what the US can do in the country. And Turkey is still an important US alley in NATO. In my opinion Biden will be elected as the next US president. He is known for liking the Kurds and he is a more honest president and as he has claimed, he will support the Kurds.”

“I think he is going to win. The public opinion poll show that Trump (US President and Conservative presidential Hopeful, Donald Trump) does not have a chance. Though the same thing happened in 2016 when most people thought that Hillary Clinton is going to win, but it was Trump who was elected president. The US potentially could have a horrible crisis and it would a dangerous period of the United States in Trump loses as he would call it a fraud if he is not elected. The situation will affect the Kurds and northwestern Syria,” he said about the possibility of Biden’s win in the upcoming US presidential election this year.

He, however, stressed Biden will certainly take a different position to all these problems that the US is wrestling with.

“I think Biden will support the Kurds more than Trump. Biden will take a stronger stance against Erdogan. I am not predicting a complete change but it is a subtle thing. It will be among those lies, supporting the Kurds more and opposing Erdogan more and gradually it will create some very different situation on the part of the US,” he said about the amount of change the US Kurdish policy in Syria would change if Biden could win the presidential election.

Answering the question about Russia’s position to the situation in northern Syria in the future, he said: “Russia will go along. It has everything right now. What Russia wants is to keep its port in Tartous and wants to have Assad (Syrian President Bashar al-Assad) in power. I believe Kremlin would not oppose the US on the Kurdish issue. And maybe the two world powers can get together better on it.”

The professor also believes that Turkey would not change its Kurdish policy in Syria as all Turkey moves are in line with Turkey President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s attempt to remain in power.

He, however, believes “Erdogan has extended himself too much. He is not only involved in northeastern Syria; he has also got himself involved in Iraq and now even in Libya and is claiming a exclusive economic zone in the eastern Mediterranean. But France, Greece, the UAE, Egypt, Israel and the US are angry with his policies. He is also opposing Russia in Libya. I believe that Erdogan is leading Turkey into a disaster.”

He added that “Erdogan’s main purpose is to stay in power in Turkey but he has a lot of problems and the solution to the situation is to fan the flames of Turkish nationalism to show that he is fighting to protect Turkey against all kinds of dangers and that is the main reason behind Turkey’s presence in Syria. The presence of the large number of Syrian refugees in Turkey is a load on the country and it is a problem for Erdogan.”

He further likened Erdogan with Trump as both are seeking the votes of nationalists and populists. “I believe that Erdogan is like Trump. The Turkish president plays on various nationalist, populist themes to keep himself in power but he has not been that intelligent to care about the long-term situation; despite what Ata Turk (Mustafa Kemal Ata Turk, the founder of Turkey’s Republic) said wisely “peace at home, peace abroad.” But Erdogan attempt to fight everywhere.”

About the recent unity talks among different Kurdish groups in Syria, Professor Gunter told KurdPress that “one of the gravest problems of the Kurds is that they are notoriously disunited. Therefore the regional counties, like Turkey, have always used the situation ageist the Kurds. Divide and rule is the policy of the enemies of the Kurds. The problem in northeastern Syria is that Democratic Union Party (PYD) tends to be leftist, socialist and looks up to the PKK (Kurdistan Workers’ Party) and Ocalan (the jailed Leader of the PKK) as models whereas the Kurdish Nationalist Council (ENKS) is affiliated with the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) which is more rightwing. It seems that the Kurds do not like each other. The Iraqi Kurds and the Syrian Kurds do not like each other. The Kurds have attempted to get unified since the beginning of the Syrian civil war in 2011 but all the attempts in this regard have led into no avail. I think they pretend that they are seeking unity but they really can not agree with each other, they oppose each other and Erdogan and the others are smart enough to use this against the Kurds.”

The professor denied to predict a clear vision about the situation of the war-torn Syria in the future and stated that “the Kurds in Syria cannot continue to exist, as Erdogan was going to control all the Kurdish regions in northern Syria when intervened in the Kurdish-controlled Syria in October 2019. It looked like that he is going to destroy the PYD and General Mazloum Kobani (PYD commander). I don’t predict a big change in a near future as there are many different forces involved. It looks like that the Kurds in Syria are going to muddle through and it is very difficult to say what the final result might be. It seems that the standoff will continue between all these countries, as there are also the Kurds, the rebels, the remnants of the ISIS in northeastern Syria. I do not foresee a big change in northeastern Syria whether Trump or Biden becomes president. The situation would continue for the time being.”

Many experts believe that the best solution for the Kurds in Syria is to go to the central government in Damascus and sit at the negotiation table with President Bashar al-Assad.

Professor Gunter voiced his doubt about the possible decision and stated that he does not trust President Assad in anything. He said: “the Kurds can go to Assad and there are things that the two sides can agree on but the idea of a long-term solution between the Kurds and Assad seems impossible.”

Reporter’s code: 50101