Lavrov urges SDC to clarify attitude towards dialogue with Damascus
QAMISHLI, Syria (North Press) – On Wednesday, the Russian Minister of Foreign Affairs, Sergey Lavrov called on the Syrian Democratic Council (SDC) to “determine its attitude towards the dialogue with the Syrian government.”
Lavrov said the US military presence in Syria will come to an end sooner or later.
“The Kurds themselves, in particular their political wings represented by the Democratic Union Party (PYD) and the Syrian Democratic Council (SDC), must decide their attitude,” he added.
When former US President Donald Trump announced that he intended to completely withdraw American forces from Syria, “the Kurds immediately asked Russia to help them launch a dialogue with the Syrian government,” Lavrov noted.
“The Kurds’ interest in this dialogue, however, disappeared after a few days, when the Pentagon announced that they would remain in Syria,” he indicated.
Lavrov pointed out that the Kurds should “take a principled position,” stressing Russia’s readiness to help them in this regard, especially that “officials from northeast Syria occasionally visit Moscow, including the recent visit of the president of the SDC Executive Committee, Ilham Ahmad.
“The American forces in Syria have tightened their control over the hydrocarbons, oil fields and agricultural lands in the east of the Euphrates, and they have begun to encourage Kurdish separatism there by all means.”
Regarding Turkish positions, Lavrov pointed out that the situation is also very complicated, as Turkey considers the Kurdish “People’s Protection Units(YPG)”, allied with the US, a terrorist group linked to the PKK.
He said Russia reassures Turkey that it does not want to fuel any negative conflicts with respect to Ankara, but rather seeks to help implement the request to guarantee the sovereignty of the Syrian territories.