lham Ehmed, a Co-Leader of the Syrian Democratic Council (SDC), via RT TV
On August 3, Ilham Ehmed, a Co-Leader of the Syrian Democratic Council (SDC), denied during an interview with the Russian RT TV that the military wing of the council, the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), is planning to hand over its areas in northeastern Syria to the Damascus government.
When asked about the results of the talks with the Damascus government, Ehmed said that that both sides agreed to establish several committees tasked with discussing the issues of governance and administration. The Co-Leader also revealed that the security issues were not discussed during the talks.
“An agreement has been reached with Damascus regarding the establishment of a joint committee from both sides tasked with resolving the issues related to the system of governance and administration in various areas of Syria, and especially in our regions. We have not seen any objection on the part of the government with regards to our continued self-governance in the Kurdish areas of the country,” Ehmed said during the interview with the RT TV.
Following the Damascus talks, which were held on July 26, the al-Jazeera TV reported that the SDF will hand over all of its areas to the Damascus government. The Qatari news TV channel went as far as claiming that its source is the SDC itself.
Syrian pro-government and Kurdish activists viewed Al-Jazeera’s report as an attempt to sabotage the talks between the Damascus government and the SCD. Now, Ehmed’s statement confirms that al-Jazeera was bluntly lying for political purposes.
