Readings from Damascus on the Russian – Turkish understanding

Syrian lawyers and political activists said in a poll conducted by North-Press Agency that the Russian-Turkish understanding halted the war, which displaced hundreds of thousands of civilians in addition to those lost their lives in less than two weeks. They also called for a national dialogue guaranteeing the rights of the Kurdish people and the components of the region, in order to preserve the Syrian unity and sovereignty.

Erdogan’s expansionist goals
Bashar Munir, editor-in-chief at Al-Nour newspaper, said in an interview with North-Press: “Although Turkish President Erdogan is covering himself under the safe zone proposal, everyone understands that he does not seek Turkey’s security or even the return of immigrants, rather, he seeks to expand and obstruct any peaceful effort which aims at ending the Syrian crisis.”

Regarding his party’s position on the Turkish invasion, he added: “We have alerted the seriousness of the Turkish endeavor and we have always called for confronting it, based on understandings with representatives of the Kurdish people to guarantee their rights and interests within a unified Syria.”

Munir concluded by saying that it is the U.S. administration that has allowed the displacement of more than 300 thousand Syrians by withdrawing and allowing Turkish invasion. He stressed that “there is no safe zone for any occupier of Syrian territories, as efforts must continue to reach a coordination between the representatives of both the Syrian government and the Kurdish people, to confront the Turkish aggression and unify the Syrian territories.”

Dialogue and the stop of bloodshed
Lawyer and political activist Jawad Mashhadieh said that the understanding was positive in terms of stopping the war and the bloodshed of Syrian civilians. He added: “The agreement opened a way for Erdogan to return to Turkey without losses and in an acceptable manner, yet, he did not address the territories which were occupied by Turkey previously.”

He stressed that the return of the Syrian government to the northern borders, has opened the door for dialogue with the force on the ground; the Syrian Democratic Forces, and to resolve the differences away from the pressure of Turkish operations.

On the other hand, the Secretary-General of the National Democratic Solidarity Party, Dr. Salim Al-Kharrat, said that the stance of the Syrian government was clear, hours before the understanding, through the visit of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad to the town of al-Habeey in the southern countryside of Idlib.
He added: “The Syrian government is determined to proceed in liberating the Syrian territories and removing all illegal organizations and forces”.