![\"\"](\"\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/Eastern-Syria2.jpg.jpg\")
A prominent Damascus-based Syrian lawmaker went even further.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWe will confront any side that stands in the way of the Syrian Arab Army and its allies recovering any area they want,\u201d said Khaled Abboud, whose views reflect government thinking.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Ahmed Abu Khawla, commander of the Deir ez-Zor military council leading the battle for the SDF, said the goal was to completely liberate the eastern bank of the Euphrates River, adding that his troops did not wish to clash with any party other than IS at this stage.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWe were determined to get this oil field. We are expecting everything. We can see clashes and we have taken our precautions. Our project is to liberate the eastern bank \u2014 all of it,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWe are ready for all solutions: political, diplomatic or military,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Some have suggested the SDF now has enough cards to bargain with the Syrian government in future negotiations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI do expect the Assad regime will pressure the SDF to relinquish control of the oil field in return for some form of financial or energy support from the regime,\u201d said Jennifer Cafarella, lead researcher at the Washington-based Institute for the Study of War. She said Russia, Iran, and Assad were likely preparing to cut a strategic deal with the main Kurdish militia for the future governance of eastern Syria.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cRussia and Assad could actually demand limits on the U.S. presence in eastern Syria as a condition of a deal,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Hassan Hassan, a Syria expert who co-authored a book about the Islamic State group, said he did not think there would be a showdown.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWe assume the SDF will continue to control the oilfield and surrounding areas if Russia sticks to the de-confliction understanding with Washington, which stipulates that they avoid attacking the other side in a certain area once the other side expels ISIS from it,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThe regime would have wanted to control the oilfields, but the SDF checkmated it,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
As U.S.-allied fighters hurtle down the eastern bank of the Euphrates River, a showdown could ensue between the U.S. and Russia, whose allies are racing to take over the same strategic oil-rich territory from the Islamic State group.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":38784,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_yoast_wpseo_meta-robots-noindex":"","_yoast_wpseo_meta-robots-nofollow":"","_yoast_wpseo_canonical":"","_acf":"","_yoast_wpseo_primary_category":10,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","_smg_distribution_targets":{"4":{"categories":["flashpoints","daily-news-roundup","newsletters"],"primary_category":"flashpoints"},"5":{"categories":["flashpoints","daily-news-roundup","newsletters"],"primary_category":"flashpoints"},"6":{"categories":["flashpoints","daily-news-roundup","newsletters"],"primary_category":"flashpoints"},"7":{"categories":["flashpoints","daily-news-roundup","newsletters"],"primary_category":"flashpoints"}}},"categories":[10],"tags":[],"coauthors":[1908],"class_list":["post-35425","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-flashpoints"],"acf":{"subheadline":"","legacy_arc_id":"PWHGKANEZRH5HAIIUJHBH2A3PQ","arc_canonical_url":"\/flashpoints\/2017\/10\/24\/potential-us-russia-showdown-in-eastern-syria-over-is-held-territory\/","remove_feature_photo":false,"is_sponsored":false,"subtype":"","redirect_url":"","disable_inline_ads":false,"native_logo_pretext":"Presented By:"},"yoast_head":"\n