Fawza Youssef, a member of the Co-Presidency Council of the Democratic Union Party (PYD), said in an interview with Sky News Arabia that the entry of government forces into the city of Hasakah represents a first step toward implementing the ceasefire agreement between the two sides.
Youssef stated:
“According to our monitoring, there was cooperation from both sides to implement this step. The Public Security forces affiliated with the Syrian government arrived, and this process is taking place without any negative consequences so far.”
She noted that Syria is currently undergoing a new phase of reconstruction, saying:
“For us, Syria is currently in a state of rebuilding, and we are facing a new phase that requires joint will and joint work so that the wounds experienced by Syrian society during the past period can heal.”
She emphasized that cooperative integration would have a positive impact on future steps, adding:
“Whenever the integration process takes place cooperatively between the two sides, it will positively affect the subsequent steps.”
Regarding the next stages of the agreement, Youssef explained that the second step involves the redeployment of military forces, stating:
“The second step, according to the meetings that took place over the past few days, is the withdrawal of military forces to the locations agreed upon by both sides.”
She added:
“Tomorrow, Public Security forces will enter Qamishli, after which the military forces must withdraw and be positioned in the barracks that were agreed upon.”
Youssef confirmed the existence of political and military will to implement the agreement, while acknowledging challenges related to mutual trust. She said:
“There is political and military will in the Kurdish regions, based on which the agreement was signed, and it is committed to it if the other party adheres to it.”
She added:
“There is a mutual crisis of trust between the two sides, but I see that there is a shared will to implement the agreement, and this is very important.”
In the same context, a convoy of security forces affiliated with the Syrian government moved on Monday toward the city of Hasakah, which is controlled by the Kurds in northeastern Syria, as part of a U.S.-backed ceasefire agreement that stipulates the integration of Kurdish-administered areas with Damascus.
The agreement announced on Friday helped prevent an escalation of the conflict between the Damascus government and the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces, which lost large areas of eastern and northern Syria to government forces last January.
Read the Arabic version: Click here
