Syrian Democratic Council (MSD) Co-chair Emine Umer spoke in the 1st Conference of the Tabqa Teachers Union.

Emine Umer made comments on the political developments in Syria and pointed to the ongoing meetings between MSD and the Syrian regime.

Emine Umer stated that the meetings they have with the regime are based on service efforts in Northern and Eastern Syria and MSD’s efforts to build a decentralized system in Syria: “We were invited by the regime and upon that invitation, we formed a 5-person delegation from Tabqa people. Our delegation held meetings in Damascus and discussed the service efforts and the relationship between the parties.

Emine Umer continued:

“To date, we haven’t reached an agreement on any issue. We have only made a decision to form a delegation to supervise Democratic Autonomous Administration efforts made up of representatives for both parties and to continue the dialogue. MSD formed a 7-person delegation made up of lawyers and representatives of the Democratic Autonomous Administration. This delegation did research on the Autonomous Administration system and went to Damascus to hold wide-reaching discussions. But these discussions haven’t crystalized into something yet.

Turkey, Russia, Iran and the Syrian regime have reached an agreement for Idlib. Russia, Iran and the regime wanted to continue with the Idlib operation. Turkey asked for more time to convince Al Nusra, but failing to achieve that, added the organization to the terror list.

The war in Idlib continues as it did. Russia and the regime continue their bombings, but there is also international pressure. Russia is pressuring Turkey to implement the outcomes of the meetings. Turkey is pressuring the gangs. In the end, it is civilians who end up exploited and used as shields by the gangs.

The international community pressured Russia to avoid a battle in Idlib. Russia is responsible for the humanitarian crisis in Idlib.

Many parties tied their hopes to the Tehran summit. Yes, the guarantor countries of the Astana talks gathered in Tehran, but the whole world saw that they can’t agree on anything. They all aw that what goes on behind the curtain is different. The day after the meeting, the true intentions of these states were revealed. Iran executed political dissidents and bombed opposition parties’ positions. The Turkish state arrested HDP members.

The incident in Qamishlo was a planned occurrence. This was aimed at negatively affecting our dialogue with the regime.

We know that the future of Idlib depends on whether Al Nusra will be convinced or not. If they are removed, where will they go? They will be sent to Afrin. Or, the Turkish state will position them within their own borders. In the end, both options are dangerous.”

MSD Co-chair Emine Umer added that the US is against attacks on Idlib, but they have also refrained from issuing any statement on the agreements reached in Idlib: “In Geneva, Astana or any other location, meetings held about Syria that don’t include the MSD are not our concern. What matters for the MSD is to protect the people and stand against plans that target the region’s security.”