Syria’s crucial national talks to exclude YPG
DAMASCUS
The conference to chart Syria’s political future will include all segments of Syrian society except for the YPG terrorist organization and loyalists of the repressive former government of Bashar al-Assad, organizers have said.
Armed groups in Syria that resist disarming and reject the authority of the Defense Ministry will not be invited to the National Dialogue Conference, said Hassan al-Dughaim, spokesman for a Preparatory Committee for the conference.
Talking to reporters in the capital Damascus, Dughaim added that the PKK/YPG terror group does not represent the Syrian people.
"The conference is a patriotic platform that rejects sectarian and ethnic divisions. The conference is a national dialogue, not a demonstration of military power.”
Since the fall of the Assad regime, the PKK/YPG has attempted to exploit regional instability to create a “terror corridor” along the border with Türkiye.
The spokesperson said that the number of participants will depend on public consultations, adding: “The conference represents all Syrians, not a specific group.
"The views of our people, especially those living in provinces such as Hasakah, Deir ez-Zor and Raqqa, will be taken into account and direct communication will be established with them,” he said, referring to the YPG-held territories.
The PKK is listed as a terrorist organization by Türkiye, the U.S. and EU. The YPG is the PKK's Syrian offshoot. However, Washington has cooperated with YPG under the pretext to fight the ISIL terrorist organization- a longstanding issue between Türkiye and the U.S.
Members of the Preparatory Committee for the National Dialogue Conference was established this week by President Ahmad Al-Sharaa to build a future and write a social contract based on national reconciliation, justice, reform and representation among the Syrian people.
The date of the conference will be determined later.
Meanwhile, Turkish media also reported that the Paris conference on Syria did not invite any representative linked to YPG. The Feb. 13 conference among European and Arab nations was attended by Syria's interim Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shibani.
In the event, French President Emmanuel Macron urged Syria's interim government to cooperate with YPG, calling the new rulers to “fully integrate” the terror group into the Syrian transition, calling them “precious allies.”
