Washington urges Türkiye's role in Syrian de-escalation as rebel offensive rages
Matthew Miller, the spokesperson for the State Department has called on Ankara to use its influence to resolve the situation in Syria.
Addressing a State Department briefing on December 2, Miller announced that on December 1, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken held a private diplomatic conversation by phone with Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan, which included the Syrian issue, Caliber.Az reports.
“In all of our conversations with countries in the region, we continue to urge every country to use any influence it has to press for de-escalation. We don’t want to see any country try and take advantage of the situation in Syria, to try to take advantage of the instability in Syria. We want to see all countries use their influence, use their leverage to push for de-escalation, protection of civilians, and ultimately a political process forward,” Miller told the briefing.
He added that US policy toward Syrian President Bashar al-Assad has not changed: “Nothing has changed with respect to our policy. Assad is a brutal dictator with blood on his hands – the blood of innocent civilians inside Syria, blood of his own people on his hands. Ultimately, what we want to see is a political process forward that – where the Syrian people get to determine who their leaders are.”
Moreover, Miller favoured the involvement of Russia and Iran to destabilise the conflict in Syria.
“We also believe it would be helpful if Russia and Iran stopped their destabilizing influence inside Syria. We have seen them continue to destabilise the situation, going back more than a decade now, continue to play a role that is unhelpful not just to the Syrian people but to the broader region,” he noted.
To recall, on November 27, insurgent groups launched a significant offensive in Syria, catching Assad's forces by surprise. The fighting centred around the cities of Aleppo, Idlib, and Hama, has been some of the deadliest in years. Rebel forces, primarily led by the Islamist group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), supported by Turkish-backed groups, managed to enter parts of Aleppo, Syria's second-largest city. By the time the offensive reached the city, insurgents had already seized more than 50 towns and villages from Assad's forces.
The offensive quickly escalated, resulting in over 250 fatalities, mostly combatants. In addition to the direct military impact, the conflict has caused significant displacement, with over 14,000 people, including many children, fleeing the affected areas. Civilian casualties also rose, with reports of deaths due to aerial bombardments and ground clashes.
On December 1, the Syrian army conducted a series of counterattacks in the cities of Aleppo and Idlib to push back insurgents. Syrian state television claimed government forces had killed nearly 1,000 insurgents in the clashes.
The Syrian Civil Defence, also known as the White Helmets, a group that operates in opposition held areas say Assad’s army launched joint counter-operations with Russian forces in the two cities. Fighter jets reportedly pounded the area, killing at least 18 people and wounding dozens more.
By Khagan Isayev