Kurdish Syrian Democratic Forces Agrees To Abide by Russia-Turkey Ceasefire Agreement

Oct. 28, 2019 (EIRNS)—The formerly U.S.-backed, Kurdish-dominated, Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) announced yesterday that it has accepted, in full, the ceasefire agreement brokered by Russia and Turkey for the northern Syrian area bordering Turkey.

“After a few days of dialogue and discussion between our general commander and the Russian government and army, and in accordance with the Sochi Agreement, and in order to protect the security of the region, and halt the dangers of an invasion and a new conflict in the region, our forces, under the guarantor of Russia, are withdrawing from the region as deep as 32 km from the border,” SDF spokesman Mustafa Bali told the Iraq-based Kurdish news service Rudaw. “And on the basis of the same guarantee from Russia, a political dialogue with the central government in Damascus will start to find a political solution. Our forces will take necessary measures and stand on these foundations.”

A separate statement by the SDF indicated that its forces would be replaced by border guards deployed by the government in Damascus.

“As the Syrian Democratic Forces, while assuring the public of our full commitment to defending the people and the region, we call on the Russian Federation to fulfill its commitments and ensure a constructive dialogue between the Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria and the central government of Damascus,”

the statement concluded.

The SDF statement was welcomed in Damascus.

“The Syrian Arab Republic welcomes the withdrawal of armed groups in northern Syria to a depth of 30 km through direct coordination with the Syrian Arab Army,” the Foreign Ministry said in a statement to the official news agency, SANA.

“The Syrian Arab Republic affirms that this withdrawal ends the basic pretext of the brutal Turkish aggression on its territories, and at the same time it affirms that Syria is for all in a way that guarantees the security and safety of the diverse national fabric with regard to the rights and duties.”

The ministry affirmed that Syria will work on embracing its citizens and providing the aid for them in a way that would guarantee their integration into Syrian society again, and would open the door for all to return to Syrian national unity as a land and people, SANA reported.