The President of the Executive Committee of the Syrian Democratic Council (SDC), Ilham Ahmed, said on Tuesday that the Council is in dialogue with all active parties involved in the Syrian issue, including Russia, which has influence in the areas threatened by Turkey to avoid the Turkish aggression.
“However, the war in Ukraine has affected the Syrian issue, as well as all other international relations,” Ahmed added.
In response to a question by North Press during a symposium held by the American New Lines Institute about Turkish threats, Ahmed indicated that the SDC is continuing constant efforts to conduct an effective dialogue with all parties to make them realize the extent of the danger posed by the Turkish threats and any Turkish military action on the Syrian people and the future of Syria.
Ahmed added that Turkey is trying to “exploit and gain the support of NATO to fight the forces that fought and defeated the extremist Islamic State organization (ISIS), which we condemn.”
The project of the Autonomous Administration offers democratic solutions to the Syrian issue and all Syrian people, but it is hit by the Turkish project that threatens the future of Syria, Ahmed noted.
Ahmed believes that Erdogan, through his upcoming visit to Tehran, aims at promoting his aggressive action against the AANES-held areas in which “we have worked hard in recent years to create democratic laws and systems that respect human rights and the principles of gender equality.”
Ahmed stressed that areas occupied by Turkey in northern Syria have turned into a safe environment for ISIS and other extremist groups such as Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS, formerly al-Nusra Front).
She warned of the danger of the Turkish threat on the joint operations between the U.S.-led Global Coalition to defeat ISIS and the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), as the SDF does its best to confront the Turkish aggression that allows ISIS sleeper cells to regroup its forces and launch new attacks against the region.
She stressed that security forces have foiled recent escaping attempts by family members of ISIS from the region, “showing serious indications about the organization’s readiness to exploit the Turkish aggression.”
Ahmed went further to explain that economic stability is a key factor to fight the ISIS extremist ideology and its ability to recruit.
“We demanded that the US exclude our areas from Caesar Act sanctions in order to attract foreign investments and secure job opportunities, but Turkey rushed to threaten with a new operation, discouraging any investor to come to the region and also curbing local residents from starting any bold economic steps,” she added.
Speaking of intra-Kurdish talks, Ahmed said that these talks cannot be fruitful unless a proper environment for succeeding is available in order to curb regional players from intervening in this issue.
This article was translated and edited by The Syrian Observer. The Syrian Observer has not verified the content of this story. Responsibility for the information and views set out in this article lies entirely with the author.
