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ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - The new Syrian authority on Saturday appointed a top commander of the Hay'at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) as the defense minister of the transitional government.
Murhaf Abu Qasra, a prominent figure in the recent HTS-led offensive that overthrew Bashar al-Assad, was appointed to lead the defense ministry as part of the efforts to fill vacant cabinet seats, Syria media.
In an interview with AFP on Tuesday, he said that they distinguish between Kurds and the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) - the de facto army of the Kurdish enclave in northeast Syria (Rojava).
“We must distinguish between the leadership of the Syrian Democratic Forces and Kurdish people who are one of the components of the Syrian population. Like all other minorities in Syria, they are entitled to full rights in every aspect of life. This is the problem with the leadership of the Syrian Democratic Forces,” Abu Qasra, known by his nom de guerre Abu Hassan al-Hamawi, told the French news agency.
“To summarise, Syria will not be divided and there will be no federalism inshallah. God willing, all these areas will be under Syria[n authority],” he added.
Millions of Kurds live in Syria, but their exact population is uncertain.
The HTS has not clashed with the US-allied SDF so far, and the latter handed over some parts of the oil-rich eastern province of Deir ez-Zor, which they had taken after Assad’s army fled to encounter the rebels in other parts of the country, to the HTS peacefully.
“At the outset of the incident [the offensive that ousted Assad], HTS informed us that our territories are not their target,” SDF chief Mazloum Abdi told local media days after the rebels took over Damascus. “We have agreements with HTS regarding Aleppo and Deir ez-Zor.”
When the HTS took over Aleppo city, they allowed the SDF to maintain its control of Kurdish-majority neighborhoods, mainly Sheikh Maqsood.
The Kurdish administration in Rojava has also decided to raise the new flag of the country, previously used by the opposition, across its institutions.
Referring to it as “the flag of independence,” Abdi said the flag is "suitable" for them "because this is not the flag of the Syrian Arab Republic but the flag of the Syrian Republic, which represents all components."
Abdi also said that they would send a delegation to Damascus to meet with the new authority.
“We want a democratic Syria where everyone has their rights... it's time for us to have our place in a Syria of justice and equality," he said during a recent interview with France 24.
Riad Darar, former co-chair of the Syrian Democratic Council (SDC), political wing of the SDF, told Rudaw on Saturday that they had twice had contact with the new rulers in Damascus “to open borders between us.”
In another effort to appease the HTS-led government, the Kurdish administration also removed tax on goods being imported from Damascus-held areas which were in place for years.
In a recent message to the Kurds, the HTS leader Ahmed al-Sharra, better known as Abu Mohammed al-Jolani, sought to ease their fears, saying they are “part of the homeland” and “there will be no injustice” against them.
“The coming Syria will have the Kurds as an essential component, and we will live together in it, and everyone will take their rights,” he said.
The Kurdish administration has said it seeks dialogue to "unify views" in Syria.
“We believe that cooperation between the Democratic Autonomous Administration and the political administration in Damascus will be in the favor of all Syrians and will contribute to facilitating a successful end to this difficult phase,” it said in a statement last week.
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