The head of the Syrian Kurdish forces opens the door to a process of talks with Türkiye

The FDS commander affirms that the jihadist and rebel offensive draws “a new reality” and advocates a political path

Dec. 6 (EUROPA PRESS) –

The commander of the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), Mazlum Abdi, has shown himself open this Friday to a dialogue process with Turkey and Hayat Tahrir al Sham (HTS) in the face of the “new reality” in Syria due to the advances of jihadists and rebels. in its large-scale offensive against government troops.

Abdi, who stated in a press conference that there are contacts with HTS to guarantee the security of the Kurdish population in the areas of Aleppo now under the group’s control, acknowledged that “there is a new reality on the ground.”

“We know that HTS has taken many areas from the Syrian regime,” he said, before stating that for now there have been no direct confrontations between the SDF and the group and insisting that the Kurdish forces “what worries them is that the region of northeastern Syria is not attacked.

“If we are attacked, we will defend ourselves,” he warned, while opting for a “dialogue” with Turkey, which supports various Syrian rebel groups, to address the situation and reach an agreement to achieve a political solution to the conflict in Syria. , active since 2011.

In this sense, Abdi stated that “the Syrian Government should be open to a political solution”, although he noted that “the solution does not only depend on the Syrian Government”. “We believe that the possibility of a political solution is greater than ever,” he argued.

The SDF commander has maintained that “previous attempts to resolve Syria’s problems failed because the Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria representatives were excluded.” “We believe that our people must have representatives for the solution in Syria and we are prepared for cooperation,” he added.

Finally, he has reiterated the “great threat” posed by the Islamic State jihadist group, which would be taking advantage of the withdrawal of Syrian forces from several areas of eastern Syria to consolidate their positions in the desert between Homs and Deir Ezzor, according to the report. Kurdish television channel Rudaw.

Abdi’s words come shortly after Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan expressed his “hope” that the large-scale offensive launched last week by jihadists and rebels in Syria “continues without incident” and added that “the objective is Damascus”.

In addition, the spokesman for the Turkish Ministry of Defense, Zeki Akturk, stressed on Thursday that the SDF, led by the Kurdish militia People’s Protection Units (YPG) – linked to the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) – “represent a serious threat to the integrity of Syria” and added that Ankara “will not allow” them to “take advantage of the instability” in the country.

Turkey, which supports several armed rebel groups operating in Syria, has in the past launched several military operations in Syrian territory against the YPG and has criticized the United States’ support for the SDF, the spearhead of the offensives against Islamic State until the territorial defeat of his ‘caliphate’ in Syria in 2019.

The offensive, which is actually two combined — ‘Deterring Aggression, launched by HTS, and ‘Dawn of Freedom,’ led by Syrian rebels — is the first large-scale since Turkish and Russian presidents Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Vladimir Putin, respectively, will agree on a ceasefire in 2020 after months of fighting.