“The United States and Turkey maintain an illegal military presence in northern Syria. They have been so arrogant, to the point of holding discussions and reaching agreements on the creation of a so-called safe zone inside Syria, as if they were planning to establish this zone on American or Turkish soil. This is a violation of international law and the UN Charter,” Walid al-Moualem, Syria’s deputy prime minister and minister of foreign affairs, told the United Nations General Assembly in New York on Saturday.
US and Turkish forces this month began conducting joint patrols on the Syrian side of the border with Turkey as part of a plan to establish a “safe zone” stretching the length of Turkey’s border with the Kurdish-led autonomous administration of northern Syria. Turkey demanded the establishment of the zone as a security measure, accusing the Syrian Kurdish forces of ties with the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK).
Turkey’s military has crossed the border into Syria several times in recent years, carrying out operations against the Islamic State (ISIS) and the Kurdish People’s Protection Units (YPG), and establishing observation posts in Idlib as part of an agreement with Russia. The United States has troops on the ground in northern Syria where they partnered with the YPG-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) to fight ISIS.
“Any foreign forces operating in our territories without our authorization are occupying forces and must withdraw immediately,” Moualem told the UN. “Should they refuse, we have the right to take any and all counter measures authorized under international law.”
Damascus has repeatedly condemned the presence of foreign forces on its territory without its authorization, but has been unable to compel the Turks or Americans to withdraw.
The “safe zone” is being established on territory that is under control of the SDF and the local administration that has largely avoided clashing with the Syrian regime throughout the conflict. Though the Kurdish-led forces control more than a quarter of the country, Kurds feel they are under-represented on the constitutional committee.
Kurds have historically been denied cultural and political rights by Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and his father, Hafez, for decades. Many Kurds still do not have Syrian citizenship and they have little faith in the constitutional talks.
The constitutional committee will convene for the first time on October 30 in Geneva, the UN announced in a document on Friday.
Moualem cautioned that the committee, which took nearly two years of negotiations to form, must not be rushed.
“No deadlines or timetables must be imposed on the committee,” he said at the UN. “Each step taken must be prudent and informed, since the constitution is the essential step in the determination of Syria’s future. Although we remain committed to making progress, such progress must be on firm footing to meet the aspirations of Syrians.”
According to the UN document, the committee could choose to amend the current constitution or draft an entirely new one. The next step after the constitution will be holding elections.
