What really matters now, he added, is whether they will lay down their arms or move to other parts of the country, like they did earlier in Aleppo.
“When the militants realize they can no longer stand up to the Syrian armed forces, they will certainly start looking for a settlement,” the expert said.
Turki al Hasan believes that Syria is facing a three-pronged attack by the US, Israel and Western countries, by their regional allies, Turkey, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and Jordan and terrorist groups paving the way for them on the ground.
As for the situation in Afrin, Turki al Hasan said the chances for an early turnaround there remaining slim, the US is taking its time ramping up tensions, diverting government forces and otherwise undermining the Syrian government.
He pins high hopes on the popular militia helping establish constructive cooperation between the government and the Kurds.
“The Syrian Government is rendering every possible assistance to the defenders of Afrin, which is considers its own territory,” the expert continued, adding that the Turkish invasion was viewed by Damascus as an act of aggression against the country’s territorial integrity.
Turkey, meanwhile, has been bogged down in its ongoing military campaign in Afrin failing to achieve its declared goals.
“Even the latest meeting between [Turkish President] Recep Tayyip Erdogan and [US Secretary of State] Rex Tillerson produced no tangible results as the situation now favors the Syrian Government,” Turki al Hasan concluded.
On Thursday, Syrian government forces fought back three attacks by militants during a humanitarian pause in Eastern Ghouta.
“During the pause, militants from illegal armed groups attempted to attack the humanitarian corridor of Muhayam-al-Wafedin three times from Eastern Ghouta … All the attacks were successfully repelled by government forces,” spokesman for the Russian center for Syrian reconciliation Maj. Gen. Vladimir Zolotukhin said Thursday.
READ MORE: Russian Military: Syrian Army Repels 3 Attacks on E Ghouta Humanitarian Corridor
Eastern Ghouta, a rebel-held suburb of Damascus, occupies an area of about a hundred square kilometers with the pre-war population reaching 400,000 people.
The area, which is currently encircled by the SAA, was seized by the so-called Syrian opposition and radicals in 2012.
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