- Title: Syria says no dialog with U.S.-backed Kurdish forces
- Date: 11th October 2019
- Summary: DAMASCUS, SYRIA (OCTOBER 10, 2019) (REUTERS) ***WARNING: CONTAINS FLASH PHOTOGRAPHY*** SYRIA'S DEPUTY FOREIGN MINISTER FAISAL MAQDAD ARRIVING FOR BRIEFING MAQDAD SPEAKING JOURNALISTS LOOKING ON (SOUNDBITE) (Arabic) SYRIA'S DEPUTY FOREIGN MINISTER, FAISAL MAQDAD, SAYING: "These forces you are talking about refused all the attempts (for dialogue) and insisted to open the gate directly or indirectly for the Turkish aggressors to do what they are doing and have done few months ago whether in western Euphrates or Eastern Euphrates. The arms of Syrian government are open to all its citizens but there is no way for us to hold a dialogue with them, neither by a separatist logic nor by the concept that they are a strong force on the ground." MAQDAD LOOKING AT PAPER JOURNALISTS JOURNALIST WRITING (SOUNDBITE) (Arabic) SYRIA'S DEPUTY FOREIGN MINISTER, FAISAL MAQDAD, SAYING: "We ensure that Syrian Arab Army, which is fighting terrorist groups throughout Syria and will fight the invading and illegally present foreign forces, is fully prepared to face all the challenges facing Syrian Arab Republic." MAQDAD LEAVING EXTERIOR OF SYRIAN FOREIGN MINISTRY SIGN READING (Arabic): "FOREIGN MINISTRY" SYRIAN FLAG
- Embargoed: 25th October 2019 08:45
- Keywords: Syria’s deputy foreign minister Faisal Maqdad no diaglogue Kurdish forces Syria
- Location: DAMASCUS, SYRIA
- City: DAMASCUS, SYRIA
- Country: Syria
- Topics: Conflicts/War/Peace
- Reuters ID: LVA001B0NKY13
- Aspect Ratio: 16:9
- Story Text:Syria's deputy foreign minister Faisal Maqdad on Thursday (October 10) said that Damascus would not resume dialogue with the Kurdish-led forces that were facing a Turkish assault to oust them from northeast Syria.
"There is no way for us to hold a dialogue with them, neither by a separatist logic nor by the concept that they are a strong force on the ground," Maqdad told reporters in his office in Damascus.
A Syrian Kurdish official said earlier this week that the Kurdish-led authorities in northern Syria may open talks with Damascus and Russia to fill a security vacuum in the event of a full withdrawal of U.S. forces from the Turkish border area.
A top commander was also quoted as saying one option for the Kurds was to hand back territory to the Syrian government.
The powerful Kurdish YPG militia was helped by the Syrian government to take control of mainly Kurdish inhabited cities in the early days of the conflict, as Damascus turned its attention to quelling popular protests against President Bashar al Assad's rule that turned later into an armed insurrection.
The Syrian Kurdish YPG never fought the government during the war, and even accommodated the Syrian government's presence in its main city of Qamishli and has a lucrative illicit oil sales business with Damascus.
Damascus, however, is loathe to cede the Syrian Kurds the level of autonomy they seek. The government earlier this year threatened the U.S.-backed Kurdish forces with military defeat if they did not agree to a return of state authority.
(Production: Kinda Makieh, Saad Sawas, Firas Makdesi) - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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