Why Kurds seek talks with Assad regime
In an interview with Al-Monitor, Aldar Khalil, a leading figure of the Movement for a Democratic Society, speaks of the general landscape in Syria and voices his opinion about the US withdrawal of forces and potential talks with the Assad regime.
The developments have been fast evolving in the autonomous administration areas in northern and eastern Syria since US President Donald Trump’s announcement Dec. 19, 2018, of the withdrawal of US troops from Syria. A few days earlier, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan threatened to invade the areas east of the Euphrates River, which forced the Syrian Democratic Council (SDC) and the Syrian regime to revitalize a dialogue process that had been halted since late last year. Simultaneously, the Kurdish leaders spoke of resumed contacts with Russia to fill the void caused by the withdrawal of US troops.
Nevertheless, the latest developments relating to the US stance — particularly the US officials’ visits to a number of countries in the region and assurances they made to their allies, including Syria’s Kurdish community — add further ambiguity to the fate of the areas on the east of the Euphrates and standings of the forces running them.
