Source: bbc.co.uk
Leader of the Kurdish Democratic Union Party (PYD), Salih Muslim Muhammad, has denied the existence of any secret negotiations between the PYD and the Syrian government over the Afrin area north of Aleppo. Earlier some sources from the Kurdish National Council in Syria announced that there is negotiations to hand over Afrin to the Syrian government in order to avoid a Turkish military operation there.
Furthermore, the PYD leader confirmed that statements made by YPG Leader, Siban Hamo, represents the official position of the party, saying “Hamo’s statements represent our official position in the Democratic Union Party.” Hamo had previously accused Russia, the Syrian government and Turkey of plotting against Kurds in Afrin.
The YPG is a military wing of the PYD. The YPG and its female version YPJ are a core of the US-backed Syrian Democratic Fores (SDF).
From its side, the Al-Masdar News site claimed that official sources from the Syrian government confirmed to it the existence of negotiations between the Syrian government and the Kurdish side to hand over Afrin area to government forces.
However, no details are available on the role of YPG in the event of reaching an agreement. The YPG may be forced to withdraw all its troops from Afrin with the deployment of the Syrian Arab Army (SAA) there. Or some YPG groups may remain in the area, while handing over the authorities in the area to the SAA and the government. In any case, the claims about possible agreement in Afrin remain unconfirmed.
Turkish UAVs flew for long periods yesterday over Afrin area, indicating Turkey’s determination to launch a military operation soon. Although the PYD wants to show itself as the strong side, but in reality like in Manbij the Kurds will have to listen to the other sides in the final of story .
