The most it expects to achieve is to hand the Assad regime the perfect control over the entire country so that it can have its proxy power to trouble its long time regional rivals such as Israel, SaudiArabia, and if circumstances dictate, Turkey.
The conflict between Gulf countries reached its peak in mid-2017 as the trio of SaudiArabia, United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Bahrain enforced a diplomatic, political and economic embargo on Qatar.
This is of vital importance for Israel and SaudiArabia considering the relations the group built with SaudiArabia by means of Raqqa and several Arab tribes largely due to the heavy weaponry provided to the YPG.
It is a well-known fact that countries that consider Iran’s advancements along the regional belt of uncertainty as direct national security threats – mainly Israel and SaudiArabia – are getting closer to each other.
Despite the high-profile participation, the fact that the United Arab Emirates (UAE), SaudiArabia, Egypt and Bahrain sent low-ranking representatives to the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) summit held in Istanbul on 13 December, 2017, upon the call of President Erdogan, caused heated discussions in Turkey and the region.
Foreign fighters
On an international level, the PYD/YPG has conducted a very demanding campaign on media presence and brand control, ranging from political offices across Europe to Russia and SaudiArabia, mobilizing both traditional and social media to push the issue forward.
While Yemen has simply become territory contested between Iran and SaudiArabia, the interventions made by the US over al-Qaeda serve as a catalyst in this situation.
Trump recently had phone calls with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, Jordan's King Abdullah, Egyptian President Abdel Fattah Al Sisi, and King Salman of SaudiArabia to discuss potential decisions regarding Jerusalem.
Yemen’s current President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi on Monday called on Yemeni people to rise up against Houthi rebels, who are mainly supported by Iran to counter Saudi influence in Yemen.
Meanwhile, armed groups belonging to Madkhali Salafism are gaining ground in the western regions as a result of Muhammad bin Salman’s purges in SaudiArabia - which is also an ally of the UAE.
Parallel to this and in preparation for the Geneva meetings, SaudiArabia brought together groups of the Syrian opposition, which are politically aligned with the Kingdom, in Riyadh.