Ferhat Abdi Sahin during a summit for tribal leaders in northeastern Syria on May 3. Source: ANHA.
The Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) are holding “indirect talks” with Turkey through mediators in order to settle their differences in a peaceful manner, the US-backed group Commander-in-Chief, Ferhat Abdi Sahin, revealed during a summit for tribal leaders in northeastern Syria on May 3.
Sahin, who is known by his nom de guerre Mazlum Kobane, said that his group is willing to reach an agreement with Turkey, if Ankara agrees to stop its intervention in Syria and respect the country’s sovereignty.
“If the Turkish state wants a political solution it should return Afrin to its people, without the return of Afrin’s people to their homes, and the return of Afrin to its normal condition no solution can be reached,” Sahin said, according to the Hawar News Agency (ANHA).
The SDF is currently controlling most of northeastern Syria, where Turkey is planning to establish a “safe-zone.” A day earlier, Turkey’s foreign minister said that his country is about to reach an agreement with the U.S. on the details of the planned zone.
Sahin’s statement indicates that the SDF is a part of the ongoing talks between Turkey and the U.S. However, it remains unclear how Washington could bring the two warring sides together.
Regarding the ongoing war on terrorism in Syria, Sahin said that the military presence of both the U.S. and Russia in the country is legitimate. The commander added that Afrin, Jarabulus and Idlib are still occupied by terrorist groups and that the war has not ended yet.
“The presence of international forces to protect our people from terrorism is a legitimate presence, until all Syria territory is cleared from terrorism,” the Kurdish commander said.
Previously, the SDF took a negative stand on the Russian military deployment in Syria, while it justified the illegal U.S. presence in the war-torn country. This new stand indicates that the SDF is also seeking a peaceful solution with Moscow’s main ally in Syria, the Damascus government.
