Barzani has a message for the Russians: I'm a friend

Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) President Masoud Barzani sent a message to Moscow saying he would welcome Russian involvement in the fight against Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham (ISIS) militants.

This comes soon after Russia intervened militarily in Syria with the pretext of combatting ISIS but of course the real aim is not really to fight Islamic radicals but try to finish off all the opposition elements fighting against the regime of Syrian leader Bashar Assad and help him remain in power. Barzani said he welcomes the efforts of the current coalition forces led by the United States to fight against ISIS with their aerial military support while the peshmerga Kurdish forces of Iraq successfully combat the radical terrorists on the ground, but said added support from the Russians would be welcome.

When you read all this, you start thinking Barzani is trying to draw the Russians into the mess in Iraq. There may be some in Turkey who think this is a very critical message that will pull the Russian forces into Iraq. Well, they can rest assured and put aside their fears.

Barzani is a part of the Turkish-American alliance in the region. He is aware that there is also a Russian-Iranian alliance that has to be taken into account when regional issues are taken up. He wants to send Moscow a message that he is not against them but that he is actually a friend of the Russians and has no desire to challenge them in the region.

Barzani knows well that Moscow has little desire to actually fight ISIS and that their main aim in Syria is to keep Assad in power. He also knows that the Russians have always wanted a strong foothold in the eastern Mediterranean; thus, their base in Syria - given to them by Assad - has to prevail. Barzani knows that the Russians will not be too enthusiastic to be involved in Iraq as their friend and ally Iran is already there knee-deep.

Barzani has always had good ties with the Russians that date all the way back to when Moscow hosted his father, Molla Mustafa Barzani. He has made it a point to maintain good ties with Moscow and keep them happy. Thus, his latest message welcoming them to fight ISIS in Iraq is simply a gesture and nothing else. So, despite the fact that Barzani has excellent ties with Washington and is in constant contact with them at the highest level - as he also knows how grateful he should be to the Americans who bombed ISIS and prevented them from taking over Irbil and Kirkuk - he also knows he has to appease Moscow and is doing so.

When it comes to Turkey, Barzani holds Ankara in high esteem and has no intention of turning his back on President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan or the government led by interim Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu. He is aware of Turkey's anger over Russian intervention, he is aware of Ankara's concerns that Kurds close to the PKK are taking over northern Syria and is doing his best to help Ankara. But as a pragmatist he also knows he has to keep Moscow happy, which is what he is doing now. There is no reason for anyone in the Turkish capital to be alarmed with Barzani's message to Moscow.