Recognizing the political entity of SDF is in Damascus’ interest – U.S. Analyst

In an interview with North-Press, the U.S. diplomat Peter Galbraith said that it is in the interest of Damascus government to recognize the political entity which is achieved by the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) in the north and east of Syria.
Galbraith, who is visiting the Lebanese capital Beirut, met with North-Press on the sidelines of a forum at Issam Fares Institute for Public Policy and International Affairs at the American University, which entitled “The collapse of the Near East: the disintegration of Iraq, the war in Syria, and Iran’s regional ambitions”. 
The U.S. diplomat, who had a significant role in drafting the 2005 constitution of Iraq and the Kurdistan Region Government, believes that “The specificity of the Autonomous Administration’s status, such as interaction with Damascus and trade relations, means that there is a greater chance of negotiations about a political arrangement, but the probability isn’t so high”. 
Galbraith noted that, “The time isn’t in the interest of Damascus government, because the borders imposed by the Autonomous Administration take more roots over time, which would make the mission difficult for Assad in the future”.
He believes that “the Syrian President Bashar al-Assad should join the Autonomous Administration in the north and east of Syria in his vision of the general framework of the future Syria, even if this requires giving him special privileges compared to the rest of Syria”.
Concerning the possibility of a military clash in the future between the government forces and SDF, Galbraith ruled out that “As long as the U.S. and Russia agree not to engage militarily on the Syrian territories, such an escalating scenario will never happen”. 
Optimism about the security mechanism agreement
The U.S. diplomat Peter Galbraith sees the Washington-Ankara security my agreement with optimism, saying: “The US-Turkish agreement in the north and east of Syria is a breakthrough for the U.S. diplomacy”. 
“The most important outcome of the agreement is to quell the possibility of a Turkish military assault, which Ankara has publicly announced its threats against the Kurds in the north and east of Syria”, Galbraith added.