© Reuters TVA still image taken from a video shows Syrian army soldiers walking as they advance on the town of Kfar Nabl, Syria.
Hay'at Tahrir al-Sham has issued its own statement on the new Turkey-Russia agreement, which I translate in full for this post. In sum:
- The path of the armed resistance and jihad should continue, however high the cost. In mentioning the political and civil administration in the north the group is essentially defending the Salvation Government project it has backed against some criticisms that the focus on civil administration and governance detracted from necessary military preparations against the enemy.
- The group rejects the idea Russia can be trusted as a guarantor of a long-term ceasefire, but rather it is simply working to enable its ally the Syrian government. It will not be long before a new betrayal against the revolution occurs.
- The agreement effectively enables Russia to gain control of areas without a fight, at a time when the insurgent factions had regained the initiative.
- The Turkish government is to be thanked for its stance in support of the revolution and the civilians. But completeness of the help should be in restoring the displaced people to their localities (i.e. the military efforts it had launched should have been continued).
Comment: It should be pretty clear. HTS, aka al-Qaeda, an internationally recognized terrorist organization, are the ones fighting in Idlib. They are not part of the deal. They are legitimate targets for the Syrian, Russian and Iranian militaries. It's also telling that they thank Turkey for the support given to the "revolution", i.e. the jihad. Turkey has, is, and will continue supporting al-Qaeda in Syria, yet every time there is a new ceasefire, the U.S. and its allies are on Turkey's side. That should tell you a lot.