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Syria
A Syrian regime soldier flashes the V for victory sign as pro-government forces take up positions on the front line with Turkey-backed fighters near the northern city of Manbij, on November 2, 2019. Photo: AFP
ERBIL, Kurdistan Region — The Syrian Democratic Council (SDC), which administers the Kurdish enclave of northern Syria, announced in a statement on Saturday that they are ready to start “negotiations” with Damascus regarding northeast Syria.
The SDC confirmed that they are ready to start negotiation with the Syrian government to prevent the division of Syrian territories by ‘Turkish fascist mercenaries”.
“We followed President Bashar al-Assad’s interview last night. Although we disagree with many of the issues he raised..we have seen from his speech that he is ready to engage in a real negotiation process,” the statement read.
Such negotiations, it added, should include others that were excluded from the “so-called” Constitutional Committee which met in Geneva last week, of which seven Kurds are members. The SDC was not included in the talks.
The SDC, the statement read, “declares its open-mindedness to form a real Syrian opposition platform that includes those outside the SDC, inside or outside Syria, who were excluded in Geneva and Astana operations or were absent from the so-called Constitutional Committee” in order to work for the “unity of Syria and safety of its soil.”
The council also paid tribute to Syrian Army troops who had died in the fight against the Turkish invasion.
Syrian troops had already been sent to Tel Tamr and to Syria-Turkey border areas following a deal made last month.
The SDC praised the previous deal between Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) and the Syrian regime of Bashar al-Assad which allowed the Syrian Arab Army (SAA) to secure the border in response to the Turkish operation, which began October 9.
Turkish proxies attacked the Hasakah province town of Tel Tamr on Wednesday, taking control of a number of surrounding villages and displacing residents. In response, Damascus sent reinforcements to the town on Thursday and retook the villages.
Hours before the militants’ attack on Tel Tamr, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan threatened to extend the borders of the safe zone he plans to establish in northern Syria, where several million Syrian refugees who fled to Turkey are to be resettled.
“We will give a drastic response to any attack coming from outside of the safe zone [in northern Syria] and we will expand our safe zone area if needed,” Erdogan told a parliamentary meeting of his ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) on Wednesday.
Turkey launched its land incursion into northern Syria, Operation Peace Spring on October 9. At least 300,000 people have been displaced from their homes and scores of civilians killed in the operation.
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