On Wednesday, US presidential envoy to the US-led anti-Daesh coalition Brett McGurk blasted a deal between forces allied to Damascus and Daesh militants involving the busing of the terrorists and their families from western Qalamoun, along the border with Lebanon, to the province of Deir ez Zor in eastern Syria in exchange for information about Lebanese soldiers kidnapped by the terrorists in 2014.
Hezbollah, the Lebanese army and the Syrian army launched an operation to clear the border area between Syria and Lebanon of terrorists earlier this month, clearing dozens of square kilometers and clinching the jihadists in several pockets. The deal made over the weekend provided for the withdrawal of the remaining terrorists and their families from the border area to eastern Syria.
"Our American partners understand that they have run out of time to seize the initiative in Syria, hence the need to attach themselves to some small issue and break the positive trends regarding the situation in this country," Yevstafeev said.
"[They're hoping to] latch on to any event, whoever it might involve, to regain the initiative, at least formally," the observer added.
"They've said that they reserve the right to bomb the column passing through territory controlled by Bashar Assad's troops in order to provoke, for instance, a reaction by the Russian air defenses in the country. Therefore, this is an attempt at a petty and cheap provocation. And this reflects the strategic situation: the Americans have lost in Syria," Yevstafeev stressed.
According to the expert, the deal between the Lebanese army and Hezbollah on the one hand and the terrorists on the other was a strategic move, with Western Qalamoun being a crucially important territory for all parties. "The Qalamoun area is valuable because it can be used to press not only on Syria, but also Lebanon, and, by controlling militant activity, to create additional tensions there. In eastern Syria, including Deir ez Zore, these militants will have little influence."
"Therefore, from the strategic, and the humanitarian points of view, the actions of Bashar Assad's allies are absolutely justified," Evstafiev concluded.
"Irreconcilable #ISIS terrorists should be killed on the battlefield, not bused across #Syria to the Iraqi border without #Iraq's consent," McGurk wrote on his Twitter page. "Our @coalition will help ensure that these terrorists can never enter #Iraq or escape from what remains of their dwindling 'caliphate,'" he added.
Irreconcilable #ISIS terrorists should be killed on the battlefield, not bused across #Syria to the Iraqi border without #Iraq's consent 1/2
— Brett McGurk (@brett_mcgurk) 30 августа 2017 г.
Our @coalition will help ensure that these terrorists can never enter #Iraq or escape from what remains of their dwindling "caliphate." 2/2
— Brett McGurk (@brett_mcgurk) 30 августа 2017 г.
Earlier this week, 308 militants and 331 members of their families began their journey by bus from the Syria-Lebanon border to the jihadist-controlled town of Abu Kamal in Deir ez Zor. In addition to clearing the border area, the deal, reached over the weekend, required Daesh to provide information about the kidnapped Lebanese troops, as well as information about missing Hezbollah fighters. The Lebanese side has received the bodies of eight soldiers; their identities are presently being confirmed by DNA analysis.
Pictures of #ISIS in the buses which transported them to #DeirEzzor after deal with #Hezbollah #Assad
— Joumana Gebara (@JoumanaGebara) 29 августа 2017 г.
They will continue to #BouKamal pic.twitter.com/4rl7qTINaN
