A Russian military delegation held extensive meetings with Kurdish leaderships and leading figures in Qamishli, east Syria, at the end of 2019 to discuss the fate of ongoing negotiations between the Kurdish self-administration and Damascus.
Sources revealed that the delegation carried a 10-point roadmap stipulating that Kurds join the works of the Syrian constitutional committee and to represent the Kurdish political movement in the Syrian government.
Other points focused on the deployment of Syrian guards along the Syrian northern border from the Semalka crossing to the city of Manbij in the countryside of eastern Aleppo.
The Russian delegation also suggested the launch of a dialogue between the Kurdish self-administration in the north and east and the Syrian government.
In addition, the roadmap lists the need to form joint economic and military committees and to issue official papers for Kurds and official certificates for Kurdish students.
Also, the delegation enlisted that the two sides should coordinate to benefit from energy resources, particularly the Euphrates dam in the town of Tabqah, located in the Raqqa province, adding that the Syrian Army must withdraw from schools and universities in Kurdish areas.
The roadmap also suggests opening the road that links the city of Aleppo to the Iraqi border, through the town of Bukamal and to “remove the Kurdish threats and dangers and work on the safety of the Syrian Army checkpoints spread east the Euphrates.”
The sources told Asharq Al-Awsat that the Russian delegation travelled first to Damascus and held talks with the government on Dec. 25 and 26 before heading to Qamishli on the night of Dec. 26 to meet leading officials from the Syrian Democratic Union Party (PYD).
The sources predicted that the Russian delegation returns to Damascus in the next coming days to present new proposals after listening to the views of all concerned parties.
