On Dec. 28, 2022, the ministers of defense of the Syrian government, Turkey, and Russia met in Moscow for the first time since the outbreak of the Syrian war in 2011.

In an exclusive statement to North Press, Dirar said, the tripartite meeting threatens the US presence in Syria and its war against the Islamic State Organization (ISIS), adding, “the US has to take a position.”

“The parties of the Moscow meeting are trying to solve their crises through this rapprochement,” he noted.

The SDC leader pointed out that Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan aims to achieve success in the upcoming elections in June 2023, the Syrian government is trying to break the siege imposed on it by the Caesar Act and solve its economic crisis, and Russia is seeking to pull Turkey to its side in its war against Ukraine.

The SDC is the political wing of the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) and the Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria (AANES). It was founded in 2015 and includes all the communities of north and east Syria.

The AANES was first formed in 2014 in the Kurdish-majority regions of Afrin, Kobani, and Jazira in northern Syria following the withdrawal of the government forces. Later, it was expanded to Manbij, Tabqa, Raqqa, Hasakah, and Deir ez-Zor after the SDF defeated ISIS militarily there.

Dirar indicated that the meeting would have effects on the Syrian people and on the UN resolutions, adding, “Each party interprets the UN Security Council (UNSC) Resolution 2254 as it wants.”

On Dec. 18, 2015, the UNSC unanimously adopted Resolution 2254 endorsing a road map and setting a timetable for the talks to take place in January 2016.

“There are popular uprisings and resentment in northwestern Syria in rejection of the return of the Syrian regime,” the SDC co-chair said.

On Dec. 30, 2022, the SDC released a statement on the background of the Moscow meeting in which it condemned the meeting.

“We strongly condemn the continuation of the Syria bloodshed by the Justice and Development Party for the sake of preserving the authoritarian power of Damascus,” the SDC statement read.

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