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The Takeaway: November 6, 2019

Incursion fallout special: Frustrated Assad willing to talk peace with Turkey; Kurds play the angles with Washington and Damascus; Erdogan’s war a winner at home; Trump’s “betrayal” of Kurds plays in US public opinion; Tulsi Gabbard calling out Congress on support for endless wars … Bonus: Lebanon’s artists align with protesters and more.

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Syrian President Bashar al-Assad chairs a meeting of the Central Committee of al-Baath Arab Socialist Party, Oct. 7, 2018 — SANA/Handout
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Three quick takes:
 
 

1. Assad willing to talk peace with Turkey, but doesn’t want to shake hands

 

Syrian President Bashar Al-Assad gave a rare interview, saying US President Donald Trump was the “best American president” for his “transparency” in seeking US control of Middle Eastern oil.

 

Given the political climate in Washington, this probably got a nice chuckle in some quarters, at the expense of the substantial news and trends revealed elsewhere in the interview.

 

As skirmishes between Syrian and Turkish forces and their proxies continue in northeast Syria, Assad confirmed that Russian President Vladimir Putin’s government has been facilitating backchannel talks between Turkish and Syrian officials — a trend that could lead to a near endgame in the Syrian war.

 

“No real results”: Assad said that “two or three” meetings between Turkish and Syrian “security officers … at different levels” have been held in the past two years, facilitated by Russia. But they have so far produced “no real results,” according to Assad. Al-Monitor’s Anton Mardasov writes that any imminent direct cooperation is “a stretch.”

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