In an interview with KurdPress, Rezgar Qasim, the leader of the New Movement in Syrian Kurdistan, pointed to the importance of the meeting between the delegation of the Syrian Democratic Assembly (MSD) and Qadr Jamil, the secretary general of the Peoples' Will Party, which took place recently in Moscow.
He stated that "The Peoples' Will Party is not a strong movement and does not have much civil support, but Moscow supports it, and that is of great importance as, to some extent, Jamil also pursues the interests of the Russians."
Qasim continued: "Our interests as Kurds are also in this issue, that is, an agreement with the Peoples' Will Party. The Russians themselves were the main factor in shaping this meeting, but why the Russians were looking for this meeting at this time is a significant issue! I think the Russians wanted Jamil to be the creator of this agreement because Moscow is looking to play a bigger role in northern Syria after concluding an oil deal between the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) and an oil company backed by the US State Department. Russia has since sought to revive another form of long-term strategic diplomacy with the Kurdish self-ruling administration in northern Syria."
Referring to reason why Moscow acted in this way at that time, the head of the New Movement of Syrian Kurdistan explained: "If Syrian Kurdistan is freed from the influence of Russia and the Syrian government and go completely under the influence of the Americans, it will be a wake-up call for Moscow because these areas are very valuable oil areas and most of Syria's wealth is in region which in under the control of the Kurdish forces and the American HSD oil company has signed a contract with them."
Rezgar Qasim stated: "Russia seeks to change its diplomacy in northern Syria and intends to put pressure on the central government and make the Kurdish self-ruling administration to participate in the Syrian talks."
Russia wants to keep the Kurds close to itself, not because of the Kurds themselves, but because of the oil and gas resources in the Kurdish region in the north of Syria. The Kurds must also be vigilant and make big and final decisions at the right time.
"The Syrian Kurds are at a critical juncture," he said. "The position of the Kurds is very sensitive and they need to engage in clever diplomacy. They should not leave everything to the Americans."
The Kurds need to pursue a coherent and prudent policy in the wake of the Gre Spi and Sari Kani events where Americans left the Kurds defenseless, and Russia had already done the same to the Kurds in Afrin, he went on to say.
"The US presidential election is imminent and it is a great danger for the Kurds if Trump is re-elected," he said. "The United States is pursuing its own interests, and Turkey is aware of this, and is using Trump's bargaining chip. Turkey knows that the United States is not jeopardizing its interests because of the Kurds, so it wants Trump re-elected."
Rezgar Qasim added: "Biden's election will change the US strategy and policy in the Middle East and he would pursue former US policies in the Middle East. I believe Biden would be able to serve the Kurds better then."
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