18 December 2019 - 07:10

Syrian Kurds make agreement with Damascus over northeast

<p style="text-align: left;">Syria government forces have reached a direct formal agreement with Kurdish-Syrian forces for the deployment of Damascus' troops in the north-east of the country as interposition forces between anti-Kurdish, pro-Turkish Arab militias and Kurdish-Syrian militias, according to Kurdish-Syrian commander Mazlum Abdi, who leads the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF).

The agreement, which was reached over recent weeks but revealed on Tuesday, was made possible by Russia's mediation, confirmed Abdi known as Mazloum Kobani.

Moscow supports the Syrian government and has deployed its troops in the area east of the Euphrates, after the partial US withdrawal and the subsequent arrival of Turkish troops.

In an interview published on Tuesday by pan Arab-Saudi newspaper ash Sharq al Awsat, Abdi said he directly negotiated with the Syrian government and that his direct interlocutor was the powerful and well-known general Ali Mamluk, the head of the office for national security of Damascus.

Under the agreement, in northeastern Syria government forces were deployed together with Russian forces along the demarcation line between the Turkish presence and pro-Ankara militias and the Kurdish presence. Kurdish-Syrian forces and Turkish forces are not in direct contact due to the deployment of Damascus' forces.

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