DAMASCUS, Syria (North Press) – Residents of Damascus rule out the reaching of a political agreement between the Autonomous Administration in North and East Syria (AANES) and the Syrian government due to regional and international interventions.
Russian media outlets reported that the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) and the Syrian government have reached “initial understandings” of the future of their relations.
The outlets reported what they called items of the understanding, which included raising the Syrian flag over SDF-controlled areas, admitting the autonomy of the SDF within the ranks of the Syrian government forces, and giving the AANES authorities a local administration.
However, the AANES denied the existence of any understandings with the Syrian government, accusing the latter of obstructing the dialogue and not believing in it.
Intertwined issues
Khalil Moa’z (a pseudonym), a lawyer in Damascus, ruled out any agreement between the AANES and the Syrian government in the foreseeable future, “because of the intertwining of the Syrian crisis.”
What is happening in the Syrian arena is a part of a plan called “managing the crisis in Syria” by different powers, Moa’z told North Press.
“Each spot of the Syrian land has plenty of disturbances which intertwined with other regions to form one equation, leading to a prolonging of the crisis until the reaching of a unified vision of all the active powers of the Syrian crisis,” he added.
He noted that solution of “the Kurdish issue” will only take place within a comprehensive solution to the Syrian crisis on the basis of UN Resolution 2254.
In February, the AANES and the Syrian government agreed to lift the government’s siege on Aleppo’s autonomous neighborhoods and northern countryside in exchange for lifting restrictions imposed by the Internal Security Forces (Asayish) on the two security squares of Hasakah and Qamishli.
The understanding took place under the Russian auspices after Hasakah witnessed clashes between both sides which resulted in the killing of a member of the Syrian government and three wounded.
Coordination with Turkey
Amir Hamdan (a pseudonym), a writer living in Damascus, said that despite the Russian role in the previous incident, “the Syrian government is still unable to conclude any agreement without Russian approval.”
Among the reasons hindering any agreement between the SDF and the Syrian government is “the Russian-Turkish understandings and the hidden security coordination between Syrian and Turkey,” Hamdan added.
“Everyone knows that there is intelligence coordination between Syria and Turkey about the Kurdish issue, as Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has previously admitted the existence of such coordination,” he pointed out.
Hamdan believes that any understanding between the government and the SDF will undermine the Astana and Sochi agreements, which mainly focus on the prevention of any Kurdish activity in return for the Syrian forces’ advance towards the opposition-held areas.”
International pressure
This comes amid difficult living crises in the government-held areas, most notably the shortage of bread and fuel.
Observers believe that the key to easing these crises is an agreement between Damascus and the AANES, which controls vital resources in northeast Syria.
Khalin al-Ani (a pseudonym) of a certified translator, believes that US and Russian pressures prevent any agreement.
“Both parts need the agreement, but they are not allowed to decide. Neither Russia nor the US will benefit from such an agreement,” al-Ani added.
“The Syrian people, with all its communities, pay the price of conflicting regional and international agendas on the Syrian stage,” he noted.
“All Syrian actors must separate the people’s daily needs from political disputes,” he pointed out.