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Asharq Al-Awsat
Asharq Al-Awsat
World
Qamishli, London - Asharq Al-Awsat

Kurdish Official Says Russia Behind Stalled Negotiations With Damascus

In this Feb. 22, 2019 file photo, US-backed SDF forces stand guard next to men waiting to be screened after being evacuated out of the last territory held by ISIS militants, near Baghouz, eastern Syria. (AP/Felipe Dana/File)

A Kurdish official said efforts made so far have failed to reach a political deal between Kurdish-led authorities and the Syrian government.

The official, who spoke late Thursday, blamed President Bashar Assad's ally Russia for the stalled negotiations.

The Kurdish-led authorities revived efforts to negotiate a deal with Damascus earlier this year in the wake of a US decision to withdraw its forces from their areas, hoping Moscow would mediate an agreement that would preserve their autonomy, Reuters reported.

However, the situation has changed significantly since then, with Washington deciding to keep some troops in Syria and the Syrian government threatening Kurdish-led forces with military action if they do not submit to its rule.

Badran Jia Kurd, a Syrian Kurdish official involved in the political track, said: "The Russians froze the initiative which Russia was supposed to carry out and it did not begin negotiations with Damascus."

"Russia is still claiming that it is working on that initiative but to no avail," he told Reuters.

The main Syrian Kurdish groups are not hostile to Assad and say their goal is to preserve autonomy within the state, however, Damascus opposes the level of autonomy which they seek.

The Syrian defense minister last month said the state would take back the Kurdish led-region by force if its leaders did not submit to the return of state authority, according to Reuters.

The presence of US forces has provided the Kurdish-led region with a de facto security umbrella that has shielded it from Assad and neighboring Turkey, which views the main Syrian Kurdish groups as a security threat.

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