Alwaght- Leaders of the so-called Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) previously have been disagree with Russia's proposal to interact with the Syrian government and entrust the security of the areas under their control to the army forces, but regional developments have made them to change their stance. In this regard, a delegation of Kurdish leaders headed by Bedran Jia Kurd, the self-proclaimed Advisor of the Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria, recently visited Damascus. According to Kurdish sources, this delegation met with several Syrian government officials to discuss issues such as latest developments in Kurdish-populated areas, the presence of Turkish forces, the need to preserve Syria's territorial integrity.
The three-day trip was mostly focused on Zones of Reduction of Tension and presence of the Syrian army on the border with Turkey. Some Kurdish sources also said that initial understandings were reached on main principles such as territorial integrity and the national flag. According to these sources, the atmosphere of the meeting was positive. These sources said that the Syrian government has made a serious decision not to improve its relations with turkey unless Ankara withdraws its troops from Syrian lands.
The trip took place at after Turkey carried out air and artillery attacks against Kurdish-controlled areas in northern Syria in past month, and the Kurdish leaders seek Damascus's help to prevent Ankara from launching more operations in northern Syria. Several years ago, exploiting terrorist groups' rise in Syria and with the military support of the US, the Kurds have taken control of northern Syria and announce it an autonomous region. But, Damascus strongly rejected the plan and has always emphasized on the territorial integrity of the Country.
Therefore, if the Kurdish leaders really seek to make an agreement with the Syrian government, they should respect the territorial integrity of this country and not engage in Washington's deceitful games in the region.
Regarding the fact that, establishing security and right to have arms are exclusive to the army, the presence of armed Kurdish militias in the northern regions are considered as an obstacle in the way of exercising the sovereignty of the central government there. On the other hand, remaining weapons in the hands of Kurdish groups will be an excuse for Turkey to continue its attacks on these groups under the pretext of security threats.
Dire Conditions of Kurdish areas
Syrian Kurds have always dreamed establishing an autonomous region in northern part of the country, like Iraq's Kurdistan Region. A plan that is in conflict with maintaining the territorial integrity and unity of Syria, and it is unlikely that the Damascus authorities agree to it. However, the Kurdish political leaders are not in a position to set conditions for the Syrian government to fulfill their interests. Now the local residents of the areas under the control of the Kurdish groups, which include Arab tribes and even Turkmens who want to return to the central government's rule, are living in dire conditions in terms of security, economy and social services. Such conditions hav caused a legitimacy crisis for The Democratic Union Party and its military wing, the Syrian Democratic Forces who are at the control of these areas. These groups, acting as Wasington's mercenaries in the region, have not only cannot provide the security of the Kurds, but they have endangered the people's security as neighboring Turkey considers them as terrorist groups and a threat to its national interests. Several years ago, in order to put pressure on Syria, Turkey has reduced the volume of water from the Tigris and Euphrates rivers to this country, leading to drought and water shortage in Kurdish areas. Lack of water resources has caused the cultivation of agricultural products to face problems, and consequently escalating economic problems of these areas. Media reports indicate that the Kurdish regions are now facing food supply crisis, and due to the closure of the border crossings with Turkey, international aid routes to the Kurds have also been blocked.
Fearing of Ankara-Damascus normalization of ties
Kurdish leaders' u-turn in relations with Damascus comes as we see signs of reconciliation of Ankara-Damascus relations and the presidents of the countries are set to meet soon in Moscow, Kurs have come the understanding that emphasizing on their pervious separatist stances will only render them the loser of new political developments in the region. Kurdish groups, like the terrorists in Idlib, are worried about the reconciliation of Ankara-Damascus ties and fear that their interests will be ignored in these relations. Turkey considers the presence of Kurdish groups on its southern borders as a threat to its national security, and for this reason, since 2016, has carried out three major operations there and have managed to capture parts of the Syrian territories. Accordingly, dealing with the threats of Kurdish militias is one of the main issues raised in the negotiations between Ankara and Syria. Therefore, the leaders of SDF have come to Damascus to lobby with Syrian authorities and suffer less damage in recent developments.
Bids of Turkey and Arab countries, that support terrorist groups in Syria, to normalize relations with the Damascus have forced Kurds to realize the fact that in the near future these countries' will recalibrates their hostile policies towards Damascus , and the Kurdish groups who have placed their hopes on the empty promises of the United States will be the main losers. In recent years, the US has always abandoned its allies amid crisis and has not provided any support to them as what it had done in Turkish attacks on Kurdish-held Kobani in October 2019 and Ankara's recent military operations on northern Syria.
Although some sources claim that the US forces have resumed their joint patrols with the Kurds in the northern regions of Syria in recent days and are trying to increase the security of these areas by transferring new ammunition, and it is even said that on the eve of the visit of the Turkish Foreign Minister to Washington, The White House officials will try to urge Ankara to reconcile with the Kurds instead of normalizing relations with the Syrian government; but what is certain is that Turkey has proved during the last decade that it will not interact with Kurdish militias. The United States has recently presented a six-point plan to expand its influence and its allies in northern Syria, but it seems that the Kurdish groups did not like it and consider the Damascus plan better for their interests. In the current situation, it seems that the Syrian Kurds have no choice but to normalize ties with the central government, and considering that the Damascus authorities have also announced that they are ready to accept the rebel groups, the Kurds can take this opportunity and use it to reconcile with the central government and ensure the security of the northern regions against threats from Turkey .
