Syria’s Autonomous Administration denies news about political meetings with government
QAMISHLI, Syria (North Press) – On Friday, the Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria (AANES) denied reports about holding political meetings between the administration and the Syrian Democratic Council (SDC) on one hand, and the Syrian government on the other.
The AANES Department of Foreign Relations said in a statement that some parties have recently circulated news about holding meetings between the AANES and the SDC and the Syrian government, as some talked about terms and points of contention.
The SDC is the political wing of the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) and the Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria (AANES). It was founded in 2015 and includes all the communities of north and east Syria.
“No political meetings took place between us and Damascus, rather there is an understanding between the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) and the Syrian army in Kobani and Manbij within the 2019 understanding and agreement to preserve borders only,” the statement added.
Following the Turkish incursion in October 2019, Turkey signed two ceasefire agreements, one with Russia and the other with the US stipulating ceasing all hostilities and the withdrawal of the SDF 32 km away from the Turkish border.
The agreements stipulate halt of all hostilities there and the withdrawal of the SDF 30 km in depth away from the Turkish border in addition to conducting Turkish-Russian joint patrols in order to monitor the implementation of the agreements.
The SDF did withdrew from the border areas according to the agreement.
Everything that was circulated outside the official framework in the name of the AANES and the SDC is baseless, the statement read.
The AANES stressed it commitment to principles of national dialogue to ensure stability and intra-Syrian understanding.
The AANES was first formed in 2014 in the Kurdish-majority regions of Afrin, Kobani and Jazira in northern Syria following the withdrawal of the government forces. Later, it was expanded to Manbij, Tabqa, Raqqa, Hasakah and Deir ez-Zor after the SDF defeated ISIS militarily there.
The SDF Commander in Chief Mazloum Abdi, in a press conference on July 15, said, “We accepted that the Syrian Army fortifies its posts in Kobani, Manbij and border areas in order to carry out its task to protect Syrian border, and we will do what is needed to avoid war against our areas.”
“We do not want war rather we seek to preserve the ceasefire and we continue to do so in this regard,” he stressed.