Syria's Assad: Kurdish areas must return to state authority

Syrian President Bashar al-Assad listens to army soldiers in al-Habit on the southern edges of the Idlib Province, October 22, 2019. /VCG Photo

Syrian President Bashar al-Assad said on Thursday that his government's ultimate goal was to restore state authority over Kurdish-controlled areas in northeast Syria after an abrupt U.S. troop withdrawal but he expected it to happen gradually.

Assad also said that a deal between Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan and Russian President Vladimir Putin to drive out the Kurdish-led YPG militia from a 30-kilometer (19-mile) "safe zone" along the border was a "positive" step that would help Damascus achieve its goal.

"It might not achieve everything. It paves the road to liberate this area in the near future we hope," said the president.

The U.S.-allied Kurdish YPG militia reached a deal with Damascus to take up positions near the border after U.S. President Donald Trump announced in early October that he was withdrawing American forces from northeast Syria. The YPG is the main fighting element of the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) that has beaten back ISIL in the region.

Turkey-backed Syrian fighters and Turkish soldiers gather at a position east of the northeastern Syrian town of Ras al-Ain, facing positions held by fighters from the Syrian Democratic Army, October 28, 2019. /VCG Photo

The withdrawal paved the way for a Turkish offensive against the Kurds and left them feeling abandoned by the U.S. and forcing them to work a deal with Damascus to help them resist Turkish forces. Ankara views the YPG as a terrorist organization because of its links to Kurdish militants in southeastern Turkey.

The Kurds would not be asked to immediately hand over their weapons when the Syrian army enters their areas in a final deal with them that brings back state control to the large swathe of territory they now control, Assad said.

"There are armed groups that we cannot expect they would hand over weapons immediately but the final goal is to return to the previous situation, which is the complete control of the state," he said.

The commander of the Kurdish-led forces Mazloum Kobani has said the agreement with Damascus could pave the way for a political solution to be worked out later with the Syrian government, that could guarantee Kurdish rights in Syria.

But he insisted at this stage it was only to allow the deployment of Syrian troops across SDF stronghold areas along the border with Turkey in a move to thwart Ankara's plan to create a "safe zone."

(With input from Reuters)