Syrian Kurdish-backed council holds talks in Damascus
BEIRUT: A senior Syrian Kurdish official is in Damascus this week for talks with Syrian government officials at the head of a delegation including members of the USbacked Syrian Democratic Forces, an official said, their first declared visit to the capital.
The visit points to moves by the Kurdish-led authorities who control roughly one quarter of Syria to open channels to President Bashar al- Assad’s administration as they seek to negotiate a political deal that preserves their autonomy.
The delegation in Damascus is headed by Ilham Ahmed, executive head of the Syrian Democratic Council ( SDC), said Riad Darar, SDC co- chair, speaking by phone from Vienna. The delegation arrived two days ago.
The meetings were expected to primarily discuss matters of service provision in the areas controlled by the Kurdish- led authorities, but Darar said that there was no set agenda and the talks might widen to political and security matters.
While the meetings did not mark the start of negotiations, Darar signalled that this was the aim, saying it was time to “solve our problems ourselves”.
“We h a v e a b a s i s negotiations,” he added.
Any negotiations between Damascus and the SDF would raise new questions for US policy in Syria, where the US military has deployed into SDF- held territory during the campaign against Islamic State.
Assad says the US forces are occupiers. For the first time, Assad said in May that he was “opening doors” for talks with the SDF. He also threatened force and said the Americans would leave one way or another. – Reuters for