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SDC’s Ahmed: Washington Rejects Any Turkish Attack Inside Syrian Territory

Head of SDC Ilham Ahmed (Asharq Al-Awsat)
Head of SDC Ilham Ahmed (Asharq Al-Awsat)
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SDC’s Ahmed: Washington Rejects Any Turkish Attack Inside Syrian Territory

Head of SDC Ilham Ahmed (Asharq Al-Awsat)
Head of SDC Ilham Ahmed (Asharq Al-Awsat)

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan is once again threatening to launch a new cross-border military operation in Syria against the remaining areas of the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) and the Kurdish People's Protection Units (YPG).

US armed forces, Russian forces and forces loyal to Syrian President Bashar al-Assad are deployed side by side in the areas run by the SDF and YPG.

In an interview with Asharq Al-Awsat, Ilham Ahmed, the executive chief of the Kurdish Syrian Democratic Council (SDC), discussed the anticipated Turkish operation, the positions of major countries and the Damascus government, and the Astana track meetings.

The SDC is the political wing of the SDF, which is backed by a US-led international coalition.

When asked about a potential Turkish military operation at a time the Syria talks, sponsored by Russia, Turkey and Iran, are taking place in the Kazakh capital, Ahmed ruled out Ankara getting the green light to attack SDF territory in Syria.

“All the meetings of the Astana process did not bring the desired results for Syrians,” said Ahmed.

“We do not hope that Turkey will be given the green light to carry out its aggressive campaign against the Syrians in the Autonomous Administration (Rojava) areas,” she added.

“Russia, more than anyone else, knows that Turkey is trying to obtain approval to carry out its operation,” explained Ahmed, adding that Moscow is well aware that areas occupied by Turkey in Syria are turning into hotbeds of terrorism that fuel the Syrian crisis and civil war.

Regarding foreign opposition to the expected Turkish military operation, Ahmed noted that US diplomats had relayed Washington’s rejection of any such action.

“They told us that they are against any further military operation of Turkey inside Syrian territory,” said Ahmed.

“We hope that there will be more deterrent stances from Washington to the Turkish actions that endanger the security and stability of the entire region,” she added.

As for Russia deploying forces, Ahmed said: “So far, Russian forces have not deployed more soldiers on the ground. They have control checkpoints on the border with Turkey, and they are running ground and air patrols inside Syrian territory.”

“While we are seeking full coordination with Russian forces to repel potential Turkish attacks, Moscow is required to take additional measures to protect the borders,” affirmed Ahmed.

“Turkey announced to the world that its map includes the entire border strip with a depth of 30 km, so it does not matter if it is currently promoting the names of some areas,” said Ahmed about Erdogan’s threat against Tal Rifaat and Manbij in the northern countryside of Aleppo governorate.

Ahmed moved on to explain that Turkey is adopting a nibble-by-piece policy, but the largest Syrian cities are included in its military map under the pretext of combating terrorism and preserving the territorial integrity of Syria.

“It is necessary for the world to realize that satisfying Turkey at the expense of the Syrian people will only have a temporary benefit for the countries concerned, and it will birth irreversible losses, damages and mistakes,” she added.

Ahmed also spoke about resentment among Syrians displaced by Turkey from their homes in Daraa, Ghouta, Damascus, Hama, Homs and Idlib and resettled them in Afrin.

“They are against Turkish policies and are now refusing to stay in homes that do not belong to them,” said Ahmed about the feelings of those uprooted by Turkey and forced to relocate to settlement projects set up by Ankara.

Speaking about several messages sent by the SDC to the Syrian regime, Ahmed said: “There is nothing new in the positions of the Damascus government.”

Ahmed pointed out that Damascus can show responsibility in deterring Turkish aggression and protecting the country’s borders.

“We hope that there will be an understanding about the border protection mechanism, especially that Russian and regime forces are present on contact points, along the borders in Kobani, Manbij, Al-Arima and Tal Rifaat in the Aleppo countryside,” added Ahmed.

“Certainly, our SDF forces have the necessary measures to confront the Turkish aggression and its occupation project, and our people are different from what they were in the past, so the battle will not go as they expect, and it will not resemble the previous battles,” warned Ahmed.

However, Ahmed noted that such a war will also cause great damage to the entire international community.

“We do not seek war; Rather, we seek to preserve the stability of our regions, which have turned into safe and secure areas for all Syrians.”

Ahmed pointed out that about 5 million Syrians live in Rojava areas.

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Interviews

Goldrich to Asharq Al-Awsat: No US Withdrawal from Syria

US Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Near Eastern Affairs Ethan Goldrich during the interview with Asharq Al-Awsat
US Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Near Eastern Affairs Ethan Goldrich during the interview with Asharq Al-Awsat
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Goldrich to Asharq Al-Awsat: No US Withdrawal from Syria

US Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Near Eastern Affairs Ethan Goldrich during the interview with Asharq Al-Awsat
US Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Near Eastern Affairs Ethan Goldrich during the interview with Asharq Al-Awsat

Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Near Eastern Affairs Ethan Goldrich has told Asharq Al-Awsat that the US does not plan to withdraw its forces from Syria.

The US is committed to “the partnership that we have with the local forces that we work with,” he said.

Here is the full text of the interview.

Question: Mr. Goldrich, thank you so much for taking the time to sit with us today. I know you are leaving your post soon. How do you assess the accomplishments and challenges remaining?

Answer: Thank you very much for the chance to talk with you today. I've been in this position for three years, and so at the end of three years, I can see that there's a lot that we accomplished and a lot that we have left to do. But at the beginning of a time I was here, we had just completed a review of our Syria policy, and we saw that we needed to focus on reducing suffering for the people in Syria. We needed to reduce violence. We needed to hold the regime accountable for things that are done and most importantly, from the US perspective, we needed to keep ISIS from reemerging as a threat to our country and to other countries. At the same time, we also realized that there wouldn't be a solution to the crisis until there was a political process under resolution 2254, so in each of these areas, we've seen both progress and challenges, but of course, on ISIS, we have prevented the reemergence of the threat from northeast Syria, and we've helped deal with people that needed to be repatriated out of the prisons, and we dealt with displaced people in al-Hol to reduce the numbers there. We helped provide for stabilization in those parts of Syria.

Question: I want to talk a little bit about the ISIS situation now that the US troops are still there, do you envision a timeline where they will be withdrawn? Because there were some reports in the press that there is a plan from the Biden administration to withdraw.

Answer: Yeah. So right now, our focus is on the mission that we have there to keep ISIS from reemerging. So I know there have been reports, but I want to make clear that we remain committed to the role that we play in that part of Syria, to the partnership that we have with the local forces that we work with, and to the need to prevent that threat from reemerging.

Question: So you can assure people who are saying that you might withdraw, that you are remaining for the time being?

Answer: Yes, and that we remain committed to this mission which needs to continue to be pursued.

Question: You also mentioned the importance of humanitarian aid. The US has been leading on this. Are you satisfied with where you are today on the humanitarian front in Syria?

Answer: We remain committed to the role that we play to provide for humanitarian assistance in Syria. Of the money that was pledged in Brussels, we pledged $593 million just this past spring, and we overall, since the beginning of the conflict, have provided $18 billion both to help the Syrians who are inside of Syria and to help the refugees who are in surrounding countries. And so we remain committed to providing that assistance, and we remain keenly aware that 90% of Syrians are living in poverty right now, and that there's been suffering there. We're doing everything we can to reduce the suffering, but I think where we would really like to be is where there's a larger solution to the whole crisis, so Syrian people someday will be able to provide again for themselves and not need this assistance.

Question: And that's a perfect key to my next question. Solution in Syria. you are aware that the countries in the region are opening up to Assad again, and you also have the EU signaling overture to the Syrian regime and Assad. How do you deal with that?

Answer: For the United States, our policy continues to be that we will not normalize with the regime in Syria until there's been authentic and enduring progress on the goals of resolution 2254, until the human rights of the Syrian people are respected and until they have the civil and human rights that they deserve. We know other countries have engaged with the regime. When those engagements happen, we don't support them, but we remind the countries that are engaged that they should be using their engagements to push forward on the shared international goals under 2254, and that whatever it is that they're doing should be for the sake of improving the situation of the Syrian people.

Question: Let's say that all of the countries decided to talk to Assad, aren’t you worried that the US will be alienated in the process?

Answer: The US will remain true to our own principles and our own policies and our own laws, and the path for the regime in Syria to change its relationship with us is very clear, if they change the behaviors that led to the laws that we have and to the policies that we have, if those behaviors change and the circumstances inside of Syria change, then it's possible to have a different kind of relationship, but that's where it has to start.

Question: My last question to you before you leave, if you have to pick one thing that you need to do in Syria today, what is it that you would like to see happening today?

Answer: So there are a number of things, I think that will always be left and that there are things that we will try to do, to try to make them happen. We want to hold people accountable in Syria for things that have happened. So even today, we observed something called the International Day for victims of enforced disappearances, there are people that are missing, and we're trying to draw attention to the need to account for the missing people. So our step today was to sanction a number of officials who were responsible for enforced disappearances, but we also created something called the independent institution for missing persons, and that helps the families, in the non-political way, get information on what's happened. So I'd like to see some peace for the families of the missing people. I'd like to see the beginning of a political process, there hasn't been a meeting of the constitutional committee in two years, and I think that's because the regime has not been cooperating in political process steps. So we need to change that situation. And I would, of course, like it's important to see the continuation of the things that we were talking about, so keeping ISIS from reemerging and maintaining assistance as necessary in the humanitarian sphere. So all these things, some of them are ongoing, and some of them remain to be achieved. But the Syrian people deserve all aspects of our policy to be fulfilled and for them to be able to return to a normal life.