Syrian Democratic Council Co-Chair: Damascus is not serious about negotiations

NORTH AND EAST SYRIA – In an interview with SuroyoTV, Ms. Amina Omar, Co-Chair of the Syrian Democratic Council (SDC), spoke about status of negotiations with the Syrian government in Damascus about a future political settlement for North and East Syria and Syria as a whole.

After being asked about the role of the SDC in advancing negotiations between Syrian parties within a framework of “Syrian-Syrian” talks, Ms. Omar said that the SDC has been able to bring various parties of the democratic opposition inside Syria together. Three meetings have been held in northeastern Syria, bringing together many opposition figures seeking an end to the Syrian conflict. A preparatory committee was formed for the National Conference of Democratic Forces whose work is to reach out to all opposition forces inside and outside Syria with the aim of uniting the Syrian opposition.

Regarding talks with Syrian government in Damascus, Ms. Omar stated that little progress had been made. Talks with Damascus, which began in 2018 after the third conference of the Syrian Democratic Council, has so far been fruitless because the regime retains its old mentality and have not been serious about negotiations. Assad’s recent speech against the Autonomous Administration, said Omar, forced us to stop the conversation for now. Ms. Omar said she hopes the Russians pressure Damascus to take the dialogue seriously.

When asked what points of disagreement still existed between the Autonomous Administration and Damascus, Omar said that the regime insists on the law of local administration but we want the political, cultural, religious, and linguistic guarantees as established in the Autonomous Administration to exist for all the Syrian people.