Syrian Kurdish officials say group ready to talk to Damascus

"We want to secure our (self-administration) project and the Americans care for that too," Ilham Ahmed said
Wednesday, 06 June 2018 22:04

The dominant U.S.-backed Syrian Kurdish party in control of northeastern Syria is prepared to hold talks with the Syrian government over the future of the area, senior Kurdish officials said Wednesday, Associated Press (AP) reported.

According to the report "Syrian Democratic Front," visited the Kurdish-led administration to "start a dialogue" between Kurdish officials and the Syrian government, said Ilham Ahmed, who co-chairs the U.S-backed Syrian Democratic Council in northeast Syria.

The proposition comes days after Turkey and the United States agreed on a "roadmap" to resolve a dispute over the northern Syrian town of Manbij, which is controlled by the U.S.-backed Kurdish militants, Washington's main ally in Syria.

"The aim would ... be to develop a Syrian-Syrian solution and close the door on conflicts and wars," Aldar Khalil, a senior Kurdish official, was quoted as saying by the AP.

"We are seeking ... a vision that ends the war. We want to secure our (self-administration) project and the Americans care for that too," Ahmed said, as quoted by the AP.

There was no immediate response from Damascus to the Kurdish comments.

Last week, President Bashar al-Assad said the Syrian government had opened doors to negotiation with U.S.-backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), a predominantly Kurdish group that controls parts of northern Syria. 

"We are going to deal with it by two options," Assad said. "The first one: we started now opening doors for negotiations, because the majority of them are Syrians… If not we’re going to resort to liberating those areas by force," he said.

Last year, the Syrian foreign minister said self-administration for the Kurds is "negotiable." 

Damascus has also sharply criticized an Ankara offensive against Kurdish militant-held Afrin, and left roads open for the movement of aid and people out of Afrin.

Khalil, the senior Kurdish official, said his party is ready to send a delegation to "test the waters" to see whether the Syrian government is ready to accept an autonomous Kurdish area in the northeast, the report said.

"If the result is peace and stability, then it is in the interest of all," Khalil said in a series of messages on a social media application.