SDF chief says Damascus not ready for solution to Syrian crisis

“The Autonomous Administration has existed for ten years, and [Damascus] must accept it constitutionally.”

Wladimir van Wilgenburg 2022/01/08 20:02

SDF Commander-in-Chief Mazloum Abdi (Photo: Kurdistan 24)

ERBIL (Kurdistan 24) – Mazloum Abdi, the Commander-in-Chief of the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), told the Washington Institute's Project Fikra Forum that the Syrian government is not interested in resolving its differences with the SDF.

“Our relationships with the regime continue uninterrupted, and we want to resolve the differences between us. We have concluded that the [Bashar al-Assad] regime is not currently ready to reach solutions," Abdi said.

"The regime speaks from the position of the victor, and, from its point of view, it has the right to impose its decisions and return to the status quo of 2011,” the SDF chief added, affirming the Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria (AANES) will not accept a return such an arrangement.

“The Autonomous Administration has existed for ten years, and [Damascus] must accept it constitutionally,” he stated, noting further that the Syrian government must also recognize the SDF and internal security forces known as Asayish.

“However, the regime is not yet prepared to take that step.”

“Likewise, a solution will not be reached without international parties putting constant pressure on the Assad regime,” Abdi said.

“We believe that, in the event of an agreement between the East and West of the Euphrates under international sponsorship, all the issues in Syria will be resolved in due course.”

Last September, Syrian President Bashar al-Assad talked about decentralization as a possible solution to the decade-old Syrian crisis.

His comments were interpreted as a message to the Kurdish-led AANES, which has called on Damascus in the past to recognize its local autonomy in northern Syria.

However, despite talks between Damascus and the AANES in the past, no progress has been made by the two sides, and tensions continue from time to time, such as in April, when Kurdish-led forces clashed with pro-government forces.

Russia has also supported dialogue between Damascus and the Syrian Kurds.

Russian Ambassador to Iraq Elbrus Kutrashev told Kurdistan 24 in October last year that the dialogue between the two sides is not easy.

“I hope that this is because of a lack of experience in having dialogue between the two sides. And I hope that with time (...) they will learn to talk to each other and understand the long-term interest in reaching (an) agreement," he said.