The focus of the conference was finding a political solution to the Syrian conflict.
“Our aim in this meeting is to encourage a Syrian dialogue, which requires serious regional and international efforts so that the people of Syria determine their fates themselves,” Leyla Mustafa, co-chair of Raqqa Civil Council told Rudaw.
“And dialogue between Syrians will surely happen,” she added.
The Syrian Democratic Council (SDC), a Kurdish-Arab alliance and political wing of the US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), together with the Kurdish armed YPG and political administration TEV-DEM, control about a quarter of Syrian territory. Lands under their governance include Rojava, the city of Tabqa and its dam, the city of Raqqa, and many of Deir ez-Zor’s oil fields.
After a string of victories on the battlefield against rebel groups, Syria’s President Bashar al-Assad recently vowed to “liberate the territories of all Syrian provinces, no matter whose control they are under.”
Damascus has largely left Rojava alone during the more than seven years of conflict. The Syrian regime has threatened, however, to take control of territories in northern Syria by force.
Media close to the regime has also reported that there have been talks between Damascus and the SDF and the Kurdish political party PYD, mainly regarding Raqqa.
No final agreement was announced and Kurdish leaders have denied that any talks took place.
“Imposing a military solution in Syria instead of pursuing dialogue and peace talks appears to be the chosen strategy,” outgoing SDC co-chairs Ilham Ehmed and Riyad Dirar said in a joint statement at the conference.
“Despite numerous calls for dialogue issued by the Syrian Democratic Forces to the regime forces, no contact has been made yet,” they added.
SDF officials said it would be “unacceptable” for Damascus to launch a military offensive on areas that their forces had liberated from ISIS.
“It is unacceptable for the Syrian regime to get away with an invasion in Tabqa or other areas,” Mustefa Bali, head of the SDF’s media centre told Rudaw.
The SDC and Rojava administration advocate decentralization and they are ready to enter into talks with the Syrian regime.
“There should be a dialogue aiming for a political and democratic solution reflecting the interests of everyone and every party,” PYD co-chair Shahoz Hassan told Rudaw.
At the conference, Riyad Dirar was re-elected co-chair of the SDC and Emine Umer was elected to share the post with him.
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