"I think that America finally realized that it would be unable to defeat IS without Assad. The Americans and Kurdish fighters will not succeed in Raqqa and Al Tabqah unless they cooperate with the Syrian army and with Assad himself. Their forces alone will be unable to do it," Tarek Ahmad, a member of the Syrian Social Nationalist Party (SSNP), said.
Assad’s fate has been an obstacle in the Syria peace talks for a long time, with Barack Obama's administration and its allies insisting that he must step down, and Russia saying that the people of Syria are the ones who should decide on Assad’s future.
The Wrath of Euphrates operation, aimed at liberating Raqqa, the de facto IS capital in Syria, was launched in November 2016 by the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF). The Pentagon confirmed that US military advisers, aircraft and artillery were deployed to Syria to "train, advise and assist" the SDF and allied troops.
Never miss a story again — sign up to our Telegram channel and we'll keep you up to speed!
