Syrian Foreign Minister, Asaad Al-Shaibani, announced on Saturday that Israel’s behavior destabilizes Syria, explaining that Tel Aviv “exaggerates the risks” related to the situation in Syria.
Al-Shaibani stated in a speech he delivered during the Munich Security Conference that “Syria brought Israel to the dialogue table with the support of the United States,” and at the same time stressed that the Kurds in Syria “did not demand autonomy.”
Al-Shaibani stressed that Syria “will not be an arena for division,” considering that the meeting of US Secretary of State, Marco Rubio, with the leaders of the Syrian Democratic Forces reflects the unity of Syria, noting that “the SDF is part of the Syrian government,” and that work is underway to reach a mechanism that guarantees integration with it.
The US State Department had stated that Rubio met with Al-Shaibani and the leader of the SDF, Mazloum Abdi, on the sidelines of the Munich conference, and stressed the importance of implementing a permanent ceasefire and integration agreement in northeastern Syria, expressing his welcome of the Syrian government’s commitment to full cooperation with Washington.
In this regard, the Syrian Foreign Ministry announced that the meeting dealt with the unity of Syria and the recent agreement with the SDF, stressing that the American side showed its support for the Syrian government and the merger agreement that was announced on January 30 of last year. The Foreign Ministry also published photos of the meeting, in which Mazloum Abdi and Kurdish leader Elham Ahmed appeared alongside Al-Shaybani.
For his part, Abdi described the meeting as “positive,” confirming his presence alongside Al-Shaibani. This comes after Damascus and the SDF signed a comprehensive agreement at the end of January, which stipulated the establishment of a ceasefire and the initiation of steps to fully integrate Kurdish forces into government forces.
