Latest news with #NortheastSyria
Yahoo
2 days ago
- General
- Yahoo
Syrian Kurdish commander says group in direct contact with Turkey, open to Israel ties
"We have direct ties, direct channels of communication with Turkey, as well as through mediators, and we hope that these ties are developed," the commander said. The commander of Kurdish forces that control northeast Syria said on Friday that his group is in direct contact with Turkey and that he would be open to improving ties, including by meeting Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan. The public comments represented a significant diplomatic overture by Mazloum Abdi, whose Syrian Democratic Forces fought Turkish troops and Ankara-backed Syrian rebels during Syria's 14-year civil war. Abdi denied accusations that the SDF was in contact with Israel. "People have accused us of this. In this interview, I am saying publicly that we have no ties with Israel," he said. But he said his group supported good ties with Syria's neighbors. When asked if that included Israel, Abdi responded, "with everyone." Turkey has said the main Kurdish group at the core of the SDF is indistinguishable from the militant Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK), which decided earlier this month to disband after 40 years of conflict with Turkey. Abdi told regional broadcaster Shams TV in an interview aired on Friday that his group was in touch with Turkey, without saying how long the communication channels had been open. "We have direct ties, direct channels of communication with Turkey, as well as through mediators, and we hope that these ties are developed," Abdi said. There was no immediate comment from Turkey on Abdi's remarks. He noted his forces and Turkish fighters "fought long wars against each other" but that a temporary truce had brought a halt to those clashes for the last two months. Abdi said he hoped the truce could become permanent. When asked whether he was planning to meet Erdogan, Abdi said he had no current plans to do so but "I am not opposed... We are not in a state of war with Turkey and in the future, ties could be developed between us. We're open to this." The Al-Monitor news website reported on Friday that Turkey had proposed a meeting between Abdi and a top Turkish official, possibly Turkey's foreign minister or its intelligence chief. A Turkish diplomatic source denied the report, saying "the claims about Turkey and our country's authorities" in the story were "not true," without elaborating. In December, Turkey and the SDF agreed on a US-mediated ceasefire after fighting broke out as rebel groups advanced on Damascus and overthrew Bashar al-Assad. Abdi in March signed a deal with Syria's interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa to incorporate the semi-autonomous administration of northeast Syria into the main state institutions based in Damascus. On Thursday, Erdogan accused the SDF of "stalling" implementation of that deal.
LBCI
3 days ago
- General
- LBCI
Syrian Kurdish commander in touch with Turkey, open to meeting Erdogan
The commander of Kurdish forces that control northeast Syria said on Friday that his group is in direct contact with Turkey and that he would be open to improving ties, including by meeting Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan. The public comments represented a significant diplomatic overture by Mazloum Abdi, whose Syrian Democratic Forces fought Turkish troops and Ankara-backed Syrian rebels during Syria's 14-year civil war. Reuters
Asharq Al-Awsat
3 days ago
- General
- Asharq Al-Awsat
Syrian Kurdish Commander in Touch with Türkiye, Open to Meeting Erdogan
The commander of Kurdish forces that control northeast Syria said on Friday that his group is in direct contact with Türkiye and that he would be open to improving ties, including by meeting Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan. The public comments represented a significant diplomatic overture by Mazloum Abdi, whose Syrian Democratic Forces fought Turkish troops and Ankara-backed Syrian opposition during Syria's 14-year civil war. Türkiye has said the main Kurdish group at the core of the SDF is indistinguishable from the militant Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK), which decided earlier this month to disband after 40 years of conflict with Türkiye. Abdi told regional broadcaster Shams TV in an interview aired on Friday that his group was in touch with Türkiye, without saying how long the communication channels had been open. "We have direct ties, direct channels of communication with Türkiye, as well as through mediators, and we hope that these ties are developed," Abdi said. There was no immediate comment from Türkiye on Abdi's remarks, according to Reuters. He noted his forces and Turkish fighters "fought long wars against each other" but that a temporary truce had brought a halt to those clashes for the last two months. Abdi said he hoped the truce could become permanent. When asked whether he was planning to meet Erdogan, Abdi said he had no current plans to do so but "I am not opposed... We are not in a state of war with Türkiye and in the future, ties could be developed between us. We're open to this." The Al-Monitor news website reported on Friday that Türkiye had proposed a meeting between Abdi and a top Turkish official, possibly Türkiye's foreign minister or its intelligence chief. A Turkish diplomatic source denied the report, saying "the claims about Türkiye and our country's authorities" in the story were "not true", without elaborating. In December, Türkiye and the SDF agreed on a US-mediated ceasefire after fighting broke out as rebel groups advanced on Damascus and overthrew Bashar al-Assad. Abdi in March signed a deal with Syria's interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa to incorporate the semi-autonomous administration of northeast Syria into the main state institutions based in Damascus. On Thursday, Erdogan accused the SDF of "stalling" implementation of that deal. In the interview, Abdi denied accusations that the SDF was in contact with Israel. "People have accused us of this. In this interview, I am saying publicly that we have no ties with Israel," he said. But he said his group supported good ties with Syria's neighbours. When asked if that included Israel, Abdi responded, "with everyone."
Arab News
3 days ago
- Business
- Arab News
Syrian Kurdish commander in touch with Turkiye, open to meeting Erdogan
BEIRUT: The commander of Kurdish forces that control northeast Syria said on Friday that his group is in direct contact with Turkiye and that he would be open to improving ties, including by meeting Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan. The public comments represented a significant diplomatic overture by Mazloum Abdi, whose Syrian Democratic Forces fought Turkish troops and Ankara-backed Syrian rebels during Syria's 14-year civil war. Turkiye has said the main Kurdish group at the core of the SDF is indistinguishable from the militant Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK), which decided earlier this month to disband after 40 years of conflict with Turkiye. Abdi told regional broadcaster Shams TV in an interview aired on Friday that his group was in touch with Turkiye, without saying how long the communication channels had been open. 'We have direct ties, direct channels of communication with Turkiye, as well as through mediators, and we hope that these ties are developed,' Abdi said. There was no immediate comment from Turkiye on Abdi's remarks. He noted his forces and Turkish fighters 'fought long wars against each other' but that a temporary truce had brought a halt to those clashes for the last two months. Abdi said he hoped the truce could become permanent. When asked whether he was planning to meet Erdogan, Abdi said he had no current plans to do so but 'I am not opposed... We are not in a state of war with Turkiye and in the future, ties could be developed between us. We're open to this.' The Al-Monitor news website reported on Friday that Turkiye had proposed a meeting between Abdi and a top Turkish official, possibly Turkiye's foreign minister or its intelligence chief. A Turkish diplomatic source denied the report, saying 'the claims about Turkiye and our country's authorities' in the story were 'not true,' without elaborating. In December, Turkiye and the SDF agreed on a US-mediated ceasefire after fighting broke out as rebel groups advanced on Damascus and overthrew Bashar Assad. Abdi in March signed a deal with Syria's interim President Ahmed Al-Sharaa to incorporate the semi-autonomous administration of northeast Syria into the main state institutions based in Damascus. On Thursday, Erdogan accused the SDF of 'stalling' implementation of that deal. In the interview, Abdi denied accusations that the SDF was in contact with Israel. 'People have accused us of this. In this interview, I am saying publicly that we have no ties with Israel,' he said. But he said his group supported good ties with Syria's neighbors. When asked if that included Israel, Abdi responded, 'with everyone.'
Asharq Al-Awsat
27-05-2025
- Politics
- Asharq Al-Awsat
Syria's Govt and Kurds Reach Agreement on Returning Families from Notorious Camp
Kurdish authorities in northeast Syria announced Monday they have reached an agreement with the transitional government in Damascus to evacuate Syrian citizens from a sprawling camp in the desert that houses tens of thousands of people with alleged ties to the ISIS extremist group. Sheikhmous Ahmed, an official in the Kurdish-led authority that controls the country's northeast, said an agreement was reached on a 'joint mechanism' for returning the families from al-Hol camp after a meeting among local authorities, representatives of the central government in Damascus and a delegation from the US-led international coalition fighting ISIS. Ahmed denied reports that administration of the camp will be handed over to Damascus in the near future, saying 'there was no discussion in this regard with the visiting delegation or with the Damascus government." Human rights groups for years have cited poor living conditions and pervasive violence in the camp, which houses about 37,000 people, mostly wives and children of ISIS fighters, as well as supporters of the group. They also include Iraqis as well as nationals of Western countries who traveled to join ISIS. The US military has been pushing for years for countries that have citizens at al-Hol and the smaller, separate Roj Camp to repatriate them. Iraq has taken back increasing numbers of citizens in recent years, but many other countries have remained reluctant. As for Syrians housed in the camp, a mechanism has been in place for several years to return those who want to go back to their communities in the Kurdish-controlled areas, where centers have been opened to reintegrate them. Before now, however, there had not been an agreement with the government in Damascus to return them to areas under the central government's control. The new agreement comes amid attempts to increase the cooperation between Kurdish authorities and the new leaders in Damascus after former President Bashar al-Assad was unseated in an opposition offensive in December. Under a deal signed in March between Syria's interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa and Mazloum Abdi, the commander of the US-backed, Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces, the SDF is to be merged into the new government armed forces. All border crossings with Iraq and Türkiye and airports and oil fields in the northeast are to come under the central government's control. Prisons where about 9,000 suspected members of the ISIS group are held are also expected to come under central government control. The deal marked a major step toward unifying the disparate factions that had carved up Syria into de facto mini-states during its civil war that began in 2011 after the brutal crackdown by Assad's government on massive anti-government protests. However, implementation has been slow. Washington has been pushing for its enactment and, in particular, for Damascus to take over management of the prisons in northeast Syria.
