Syria's leader Ahmad al-Shareh held the first “positive” discussions in Damascus with a delegation of the Syrian Democratic Forces, a coalition dominated by Kurdish fighters and supported by Washington, an official speaking to AFP reported on Tuesday. under condition of anonymity.
“A meeting was held on Monday between senior officials of the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) and Jolani in Damascus,” said the Syrian official, using Mr. Chareh's nom de guerre, Abu Mohammad al-Jolani.
At the head of the radical Islamist group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), Ahmed al-Chareh led a coalition of armed rebel groups that entered Damascus on December 8 and pushed President Bashar al-Assad to flee, ending more than half a century of unchallenged rule by the Assad family over Syria.
Monday's meeting with the FDS delegation was a “preliminary meeting to lay the foundations for a future dialogue”, added the official, specifying that the two camps agreed “to continue these meetings to reach understandings”.
This first meeting was “positive” and should allow “to intensify the dialogue in the future.”
The FDS, partners of the West united within an international anti-jihadist coalition, have been the spearhead of the fight against the Islamic State (IS) group.
Thanks to the Syrian conflict that began in 2011, they took advantage of a withdrawal of regime forces to take control of large swathes of territory in northeast Syria, establishing an “autonomous administration”.
In the regions they control are vast agricultural areas but also most of the country's valuable oil wells, crucial to Syria's revenue.
Mr. Chareh affirmed that the SDF should be integrated into the future Syrian army, during an interview with the Al-Arabiya channel broadcast on Sunday evening.
“Weapons must be solely in the hands of the state. Anyone who was armed and has the capacity to join the Ministry of Defense will be welcome,” he declared, assuring that it is on “these conditions and these criteria” that “negotiations” will be carried out with the FDS, “in the hope of finding an appropriate solution”.
