ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - The Swedish foreign minister said late Friday that her country is still an active partner of the Syrian Kurds after receiving a top delegation from the autonomous administration in northeast Syria.
“Appreciate sincere discussion with SDC’s Ilham Ahmad on the situation in northeastern Syria. Sweden remains [an] active partner,” said Ann Linde in a tweet.
Elham Ahmad is the co-chair of the Syrian Democratic Council (SDC), the political wing of the US-allied Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF). There has been no official statement from Ahmad regarding her visit to Sweden and meeting with Linde.
Shiyar Ali, who represents the Kurdish administration in Sweden, told Rudaw English that both sides "discussed ways to support the Syrian democratic opposition and find a mechanism to reach a roadmap that leads to a more inclusive political process in Syria."
"A number of issues related to the humanitarian and economic situation in Syria in general and northeastern Syria in particular were also discussed," he added.
Linde, known for voicing strong support for Syrian Kurds, has met several times with Ahmad and other Kurdish officials from Syria.
In July, Sweden pledged an additional $10 million in humanitarian aid for northeast Syria following a meeting between Linde and Bedran Chiya Ali, deputy co-chair of the Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria (NES). Since 2016, Sweden has given some $41 million for Rojava.
As a member of the global coalition against the Islamic State (ISIS), Sweden provided a total of $210.8 million to Syria between 2016 and 2020, and it plans to continue providing humanitarian assistance through 2023, bringing its total contribution to $376 million.
The Swedish government’s stated objectives in Syria include improving the livelihoods of Syrians, combating gender-based violence, improving human rights, and improving “access to inclusive and equitable basic public services for people in a vulnerable situation in neighbouring countries, including refugees from Syria, as a result of the Syria crisis.”
In Ankara in October 2020, Linde told her Turkish counterpart Mevlut Cavusoglu that Turkey must withdraw from Rojava . Her comments angered the Turkish minister but were cheered by Kurdish officials in Rojava.
Linde has also voiced support for the inclusion of Syria’s Kurdish administration in the UN-sponsored constitutional committee aimed at finding a political end to the country’s civil war.
Updated at 12:36pm with comment from Shiyar Ali
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