[Midden-Oosten] U.S. proxy forces in Syria seek negotiations with Assad regime

[Jeff]

AFP
http://www.france24.com/en/20180610-kurd-arab-council-ready-unconditional-talks-with-syria-regime

Kurd-Arab council ready for 'unconditional talks' with Syria regime
Latest update: 2018-06-10


The political arm of a powerful alliance of Syrian Kurd and Arab 
fighters announced Sunday it was ready for unconditional peace talks 
with the central government in Damascus.

The Syrian Democratic Council (SDC) is linked to the Syrian Democratic 
Forces, a US-backed militia that holds much of the country's north and 
east.

Those areas are outside regime control, and most are managed by 
autonomous Kurdish-run administrations that the regime sees as a 
challenge to its authority.

In a statement on Sunday, the SDC said it was committed to resolving 
Syria's deadly conflict through dialogue, and would not "hesitate to 
agree to unconditional talks".

"It is positive to see comments about a summit for Syrians, to pave the 
way to start a new page," it said.

Leading SDC member Hekmat Habib told AFP that both the council and the 
SDF "are serious about opening the door to dialogue" with the 
government.

"With the SDF's control of 30 percent of Syria, and the regime's control 
of swathes of the country, these are the only two forces who can sit at 
the negotiating table and formulate a solution to the Syrian crisis," he 
said.

The comments are the latest in a string of developments indicating an 
attempted rapprochement between the regime and Kurdish authorities, in 
an effort to head off a clash.

Last month, Syrian President Bashar al-Assad warned Kurdish forces he 
could use force against them, if he was not able to take their territory 
through talks.

Several days later, a delegation from Syria's tolerated domestic 
opposition made a rare visit to Qamishli, most of which is held by 
Kurdish forces linked to the SDF.

A Syrian Kurdish official told AFP at the time that the delegation was 
trying to play a mediating role between local autonomous authorities and 
the regime.

Foreign Minister Walid Muallem subsequently said the government was 
informally talking to the Kurds but that negotiations had not yet 
started.

It was not immediately clear what kind of talks the SDC or the 
government have envisioned. Neither the SDC nor Kurdish bodies have ever 
been independently invited to take part in peace talks hosted by the 
United Nations.

Syria's government has recaptured more than half of the country, and the 
SDF is the second most powerful force with just under a third of Syrian 
territory.

Much of the territory currently under SDF control was captured during a 
US-backed military campaign against the Islamic State jihadist group.

Residents in SDF territory have expressed fear that an eventual US 
withdrawal could cost them their biggest ally and weaken their hand.

But Habib said he expected all non-Syrian forces to leave including the 
Americans.

"We are looking forward, in the next phase, to the departure of all 
military forces from Syria and the return to Syrian-Syrian dialogue," he 
told AFP.

(AFP)