Syria and Kurds talk post-US departure

BEIRUT — Talks are ongoing between the Syrian government in Damascus and Kurdish officials to reach a deal on how to fill the gap following the withdrawal of US troops from the country, a Syrian Kurdish official said on Saturday.

The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because of the secrecy of the talks, said Syrian Kurdish officials have visited Russia which is a main backer of the Syrian government. He added that Russia supports the talks between the government and the Kurdish-led militia that control nearly a third of the country.

US President Donald Trump announced in mid-December that the US will withdraw all of its 2,000 forces in Syria. Trump’s move has raised fears over clearing the way for a Turkish assault on Kurdish fighters in Syria who fought alongside US troops against Islamic State group extremists. Turkey considers the Kurdish People’s Protection Units, or YPG, a terrorist group linked to an insurgency within its own borders.

The main US-backed Kurdishled Syrian Democratic Forces has expressed concerns over the planned withdrawal as Turkey has threatened to launch a military operation against Kurdish fighters in Syria.

The Kurdish official said “discussions are ongoing and the atmosphere is positive”. He said that an understanding has been reached to “face any force that wants to occupy Syria especially in the north”.

The official told The Associated Press that Russia is playing a “positive role” in discussing agreements that could be reached between the Kurds and the government. He gave no further details saying that discussions are still ongoing.

“There are hopes to reach a deal that pleases both sides as we are all Syrians,” he said.

US national security adviser John Bolton, who is currently in Israel, is scheduled to later visit Turkey along with the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, General Joseph Dunford.

In meetings with Turkey’s president, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, and other officials, they are expected to warn against an offensive targeting the Kurdish fighters in Syria.

Meanwhile, a total of 120 rebel fighters were killed over the past five days during battles between the Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), the umbrella group of the al-Qaida-linked Nusra Front, and the Turkey-backed rebels of the Nour al-Din al-Zenki, a part of the bigger umbrella of the National Liberation Front, in the western countryside of Aleppo, according to a report from the Londonbased Syrian Observatory for Human Rights on Saturday.