Mazloum Kobani, commander-in-chief of the Syrian Democratic Army, said in a statement referring to the Syrian Kurdish talks with the central government that “representatives of the North and East Syrian Autonomous Administration have repeatedly stated that the central government is unwilling to negotiate. In this process, only a military agreement has been reached between the Syrian central government and the Syrian Democratic Army, mediated by Russia. However, if they care about the future of Syria, they will not make tense statements or hinder the continuation of the talks. Our behavior in this regard has been well known since the beginning of the Syrian crisis in 2011 by both the Syrian government and other governments. Our main goal for all of Syria is to prevent the disintegration of the country and to prevent major wars."

"We have never been part of the Syrian crisis," Kobani told Hawarnews, adding that “War has always been waged against us. We have defended ourselves against these attacks at all times. We drove the ISIS terrorist group out of our area. In order not to threaten this region, we always followed talks with the Syrian central government. Negotiation channels with the Syrian central government are still open.”

He further added that “We will continue these negotiations to resolve the security issues that have arisen. But on political issues, I can not talk about the continuation of negotiations. The behavior of the Syrian central government is not so that we can feel that it seeks to resolve the crisis in the region. If the Syrian crisis is to be resolved, it must be political. Without the presence of the self-ruling autonomy in northern and eastern Syria, the crisis will not be resolved."

"We are ready to negotiate at any time to resolve the crisis," Kobani said. The Kurdish commander added that “But those with a dirty mindset and politics oppose the trend. The central government must act responsibly. The policy adopted by the central government only serves the disintegration of Syria. We will defend and continue to defend our land and region. If necessary, we will defend our territories against the Syrian central government. There is only one way for the Syrian central government, and that is to negotiate."

Reporter’s code: 50101