Syrian Kurds seeking talks with Damascus amid regional changes

The semi-autonomous Kurdish Administration, which controls large areas in northern and northeastern Syria, has expressed its willingness to meet with the regime of Bashar Al-Assad to discuss reaching a solution to the crisis in the country.

"We affirm our readiness to meet and talk with the Syrian government and with all Syrian parties to hold discussions and present initiatives for a solution," it said in a statement released on Tuesday night.

The administration appealed to Arab countries, the United Nations and all international forces active in the Syrian issue to play a "positive and effective" role to search for a common solution with the Syrian government.

The decision was announced hours after Saudi Foreign Minister, Prince Faisal Bin Farhan, visited Damascus and met Syrian President, Bashar Al-Assad, in the first such visit since 2011.

Over the past weeks, a number of Arab countries have expressed their willingness to bring Syria back from isolation.

The Assad government rejects the Kurdish-led "Autnomous Administration of Northern and Eastern Syria" (AANES) and accuses it of "separatism".

Several rounds of talks since 2018 between the regime and AANES - which controls most of the country's major oil and gas fields - have failed to achieve any results.

The Kurdish statement denied any separatist ambitions, "affirming Syria's territorial integrity" and calling for Syria's resources to be shared "fairly".

The Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), AANES's de facto army, played a major role in fighting the Islamic State group in Syria, driving it from its last stronghold in the country in 2019 with US backing.

Assad has been politically isolated in the region since Syria's conflict began in 2011, but Arab states accelerated normalization of relations with the dictator following a devastating February 6 earthquake that killed thousands in Turkey and Syria.

Over 500,000 people have been killed and millions more displaced in the conflict.

A flurry of diplomatic activity has been underway in past weeks as Middle East rivals Saudi Arabia and the Syrian government's ally Iran patched up ties, shifting regional relations.

On Tuesday, Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan met with Assad in Damascus, in the first visit by a Saudi official since the conflict began.

The pair discussed steps to achieve a political settlement for the Syrian regime's return to the Arab fold, according to the Saudi foreign ministry.

Last week, diplomats from nine Arab countries met in Saudi Arabia to discuss ending the regime's long spell in the diplomatic wilderness, and Syria's foreign minister visited Saudi Arabia for the first time in over a decade.

The Kurdish-led authorities in the statement urged "Arab countries, the United Nations and international forces... to play an active and positive role in searching for a common solution".

They said they were ready to share resources including oil and gas "through an agreement with the Syrian government" following "dialogue and negotiation".

Turkey has also made overtures towards the regime in recent months, stoking further fears among Syria's Kurds.

Ankara considers the People's Protection Units (YPG) - which dominate the SDF - as an offshoot of the banned Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), designated as a terrorist group by Turkey and its Western allies.

"Any party or individual working for a foreign power is simply a traitor and a collaborator," Assad told broadcaster Russia Today in an interview last month, when asked about the YPG.

News Code 158943

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