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ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - Germany’s foreign minister said on Friday that the security of Syria’s Kurds is “essential” for peace in the country and called for an end to attacks on Kurdish forces and their inclusion in the new security apparatus.
“The security of the Kurds is also essential for peaceful Syria. This requires an end to the fighting in the north and the integration of the Kurdish forces as well as the SNA into a pan-Syrian security architecture, which gives true security to everyone,” Annalena Baerbock told reporters in Damascus, adding that talks between the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) and the new authorities in Damascus “is an important first step.”
Turkey-backed militia groups that call themselves the Syrian National Army (SNA) are attacking the Kurdish-led SDF in the north of the country. The SDF controls most of northeast Syria (Rojava).
Baerbock and her French counterpart are in Damascus for a range of meetings, including with the country’s new de facto leader Ahmed al-Sharaa, better known as Abu Mohammed al-Jolani.
Since late November, the SNA have seized control of the strategic towns of Tal Rifaat and Manbij. Clashes are continuing, especially near Tishreen Dam and Qere Qozaq bridge on the Euphrates River. The SDF claimed it has repelled dozens of SNA attacks, saying in a statement on Friday that it killed over 70 militants and injured numerous others.
Last month, the US brokered a ceasefire between the SDF and Turkey, though Ankara denied having agreed to the arrangement. The Pentagon said on Monday that the ceasefire is “still holding.”
Baerbock said Syria’s peace process “must not be disrupted from outside” and that “all Syria's neighbors must respect its territorial integrity and sovereignty.”
French foreign minister Jean-Noel Barrot echoed Baerbock’s call for a truce in the north.
“A sovereign and secure Syria no longer allows room for war and conflict. Therefore, weapons in the north of the country must fall silent,” he said during a meeting with representatives of Syrian civil society.
“For this reason, a political solution must be found with France's allies, who are the Kurds, so that they can fully participate in this political process that begins today. And the ceasefire must be permanent and lasting,” he added
Sharaa is the head of Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), which led a coalition of rebel groups that ousted the former regime and installed a transitional government. HTS has Islamic jihadist roots and there are concerns about how that ideology will be reflected in the new Syria, especially among the country’s minority populations.
Sharaa has repeatedly promised that the rights of all people in Syria will be protected.
A delegation from the SDF met with Sharaa on Monday, discussing the future of Rojava.
HTS has not clashed with the SDF and has allowed the United States-backed force to remain in control of two Kurdish-majority neighborhoods in Aleppo.
Sharaa told Saudi media on Sunday that the country's new security apparatus will include "Kurdish forces in its ranks.”
Sharaa also called Kurds an “integral part” of Syrian society but said that his administration will not allow the country to become a “launchpad” for attacks by the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK).
SDF chief Mazloum Abdi told Asharq Al-Awsat in a recent interview that they are willing to merge the SDF into a new Syrian army if both sides agree on a “suitable formula through negotiations.”
Stefan Schneck, Germany’s envoy to Syria, told Rudaw last month that Berlin is ready to help Syria’s new rulers establish a unified security force that includes the SDF.
The SDF are the main allies of the US-led global coalition against the Islamic State (ISIS). Germany is an active member of that coalition.
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