TUNIS, January 27. /TASS/. Syrian interim president Ahmed al-Sharaa will meet with the Kurdish National Council (KNC), a political alliance of Kurdish forces, in Damascus in the coming days, Syria TV reported.
According to the channel’s source, the meeting will aim to de-escalate the situation in northeastern Syria. The KNC welcomed the Syrian leader’s invitation to talks and expressed support for dialogue with the government to reduce tensions in Hasakah and Ain al-Arab (Kobani) and to resolve disputes without the use of military force.
On January 18, al-Sharaa approved a ceasefire agreement with the Kurdish coalition Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF). The document provides that the provinces of Deir ez-Zor and Raqqa in the northeast of the country will come under the full control of the republic’s interim government. All civil institutions established by the Kurds in Al-Hasakah governorate will be integrated into the Syrian state, while the Syrian army will assume responsibility for the security of all border crossings and oil and gas fields in the region.
On January 20, the Defense Ministry announced a four-day ceasefire in the northeast as part of a new agreement with the SDF. After the expiration of this period, the ministry extended the ceasefire for another 15 days, until February 8.
The Kurdish National Council, which includes 16 Syrian Kurdish parties, was established on October 26, 2011, with the support of Masoud Barzani, the head of the Kurdistan Democratic Party.