Austrian delegation visits northeast Syria
QAMISHLI, Syria (North Press) – An Austrian delegation from the government coalition of the National Council sat with officials from the Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria (AANES) on Saturday, and discussed the Turkish attacks on the region and the establishment of an international tribunal for ISIS fighters.
The visiting delegation consisted of Green Party MP Ewa Dziedzic, People’s Party MP Reinhold Lopatka, and Thomas Schmidinger, a professor of political science at the University of Vienna.
A source from the AANES’ Foreign Relations Department stated that department co-chair Abdulkarim Omar discussed a number of important issues with the Austrian delegation, including the implications of any future Turkish attacks on the region.
The source added that the two sides discussed “the risks of any attacks that could destabilize the region and cause waves of displacement,” and the possibility that such attacks may encourage the return of ISIS.
The source said that Autonomous Administration officials asked the visiting delegation to “provide support for the proposal to establish a court to try ISIS elements.”
He added that the local officials also called on the visiting delegation to provide moral and material support to compensate those affected by ISIS, including compensation for the families of those who lost their children during the war against the terror group.
The Austrian delegation expressed its support for the proposal to establish an international tribunal to try ISIS fighters, as according to Lopatka, the majority of European countries “don’t want to take these foreign terrorist fighters back.”
The source also added that the two parties also discussed the issue of resolving the Syrian crisis and the need for representatives of the regions of northeast Syria to join in Syrian negotiations.
The source added that “the meeting was important, considering that it might pave the way for building official relations with Austria, especially since a meeting might be held soon between Autonomous Administration officials and the Austrian government.”
The delegation also discussed the humanitarian aid provided by the United Nations to Syria and the difficulties encountered in providing aid to the northeast part of the country, especially as this aid arrives through Ankara and Damascus, according to the source.
He added that the Austrian delegation indicated that Austria has provided financial support to the United Nations to provide a coronavirus vaccine and allocate a share of it to Syria.
The source indicated that the Autonomous Administration officials stressed that northeast Syria will remain without such vaccines if these vaccines are to arrive in Syria via Damascus.