Russia Threatens Syria's Kurds with New Turkish Incursion

A Syrian opposition fighter in Aleppo's northern countryside, April 5, 2022. (EPA)
A Syrian opposition fighter in Aleppo's northern countryside, April 5, 2022. (EPA)
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Russia Threatens Syria's Kurds with New Turkish Incursion

A Syrian opposition fighter in Aleppo's northern countryside, April 5, 2022. (EPA)
A Syrian opposition fighter in Aleppo's northern countryside, April 5, 2022. (EPA)

The Russian mediator in Syria warned Kurdish forces that Turkey would carry out an incursion should they reject Moscow's conditions to end the tensions between Qamishli and Damascus.

Informed sources told the German news agency (dpa) that the mediator informed the Kurdish Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) that Turkey-backed Syrian opposition factions would invade the towns of al-Darbasiyah and Amoud to reach Qamishli if the SDF doesn't pull out of the government security zone.

The SDF was also demanded to end the siege of the security zones in Qamishli and Hasakeh.

The SDF did withdraw from the government buildings without incident.

Meanwhile, residents of the town of Tal Tamer, in Hasakeh's northern countryside, said Turkish artillery had shelled for a second consecutive day villages in northeastern Syria.

Aram Hanna, a spokesman for the SDF, told Asharq Al-Awsat that Turkey is seeking a green light to launch new offensives in northern Syria to achieve its "terrorist" interests.

It wants to exploit the world's preoccupation with the Ukrainian-Russian war to carry out the attack, he warned.

Moreover, he stated that Turkey's attacks aim to destabilize the region and allow terrorist groups to reorganize their ranks to commit atrocities.

Hanna said the SDF was in contact with the Russian mediator over Ankara's violations, but little has been seen on the ground to stop them.

The SDF, he stressed, is a defensive force and it will retaliate to the sources of fire in the right time.

It has taken the necessary measures to secure the safety of the region and stand against Turkey's malign ambitions, he added.



Syria’s Assad: Problem Doesn’t Lie in Meeting Erdogan, but in What Will Be Discussed

This handout picture released by the Syrian Presidency Facebook page on July 15, 2024, shows Syria's President Bashar al-Assad voting in elections of new Members of Parliament (MPs) in the capital Damascus. (Syrian Presidency Facebook page / AFP)
This handout picture released by the Syrian Presidency Facebook page on July 15, 2024, shows Syria's President Bashar al-Assad voting in elections of new Members of Parliament (MPs) in the capital Damascus. (Syrian Presidency Facebook page / AFP)
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Syria’s Assad: Problem Doesn’t Lie in Meeting Erdogan, but in What Will Be Discussed

This handout picture released by the Syrian Presidency Facebook page on July 15, 2024, shows Syria's President Bashar al-Assad voting in elections of new Members of Parliament (MPs) in the capital Damascus. (Syrian Presidency Facebook page / AFP)
This handout picture released by the Syrian Presidency Facebook page on July 15, 2024, shows Syria's President Bashar al-Assad voting in elections of new Members of Parliament (MPs) in the capital Damascus. (Syrian Presidency Facebook page / AFP)

Syria’s President Bashar al-Assad said on Monday he was ready to meet with his Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan if that would serve his country’s interest.

He added that the problem doesn’t lie in the meeting “but in what will be discussed,” questioning the point of a holding a meeting if they won’t discuss the withdrawal of the Turkish forces from northern Syria.

He made his remarks as he cast his vote in his country’s parliamentary elections.

“We have repeatedly said that we are positive towards any initiative aimed at improving relations. This is natural and no one is thinking about creating problems with their neighbors,” he stated.

“We are moving positively, but based on clear principles ... which are international law and sovereignty. We are working according to a specific methodology to guarantee that we will reach positive results,” Assad stressed.

“If we don’t achieve positive results, then that means the outcomes will be negative ... In this case, we either win or lose,” he went on to say.

“On the joint level, we and Türkiye are allies. So, everyone wins or loses; there is no middle ground or grey area,” he continued.

“If a meeting with Erdogan will lead to results ... and achieve the country’s interest, then I will go ahead with it,” he declared.