RPT: PYD Says Ready To Cooperate With Damascus Amid Threat From Turkey - Senior Official

GENOA (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 04th July, 2020) The Syrian Kurdish Democratic Union Party (PYD) is calling on Damascus to take action to end Turkish military presence in northern Syria and is ready for "anything that will serve Syria's interest," a PYD senior official, Aldar Xelil, told Sputnik.

Last week, Syrian Foreign Minister Walid Muallem said he hoped Kurdish forces in northeastern Syria would soon come back to the side of Damascus to expel foreign troops together.

"We are now facing a clear and open occupation by Turkey that targets Syria and its people in every way. In our opinion, there were many ways that Damascus could take to prevent this from developing, but they were not reached. Now we need tools for the practical implementation.

We want Damascus to have a real role in this context and are ready for anything that will serve Syria's interest, as well as its unity," Xelil, a member of the Joint Presidium of the Democratic Union Party, said.

The Kurds are Syrians who have defended their national identity and know that Damascus is the "general solution" to the overall crisis in Syria and to the Kurdish issue as well as any other problems, Xelil continued.

"We are always ready to protect [our lands] against the existing occupation that aims to divide Syria and fragment its unity, as well as to contribute to the expulsion of these people," Xelil said, adding that what he called "Turkish occupation" has changed the demographic situation of the original Syrian regions.