Konflikten i Syrien

Syrian Kurds, allies set to approve new government blueprint.

Syrian Kurdish groups and their allies are expected to approve a blueprint for a system of federal government in northern Syria this week, Kurdish officials said, reaffirming their plans for autonomy as Russia and Turkey seek to revive diplomacy.

The blueprint amounts to a constitution, known as the social contract, and is expected to be approved on Wednesday or Thursday at a meeting of a 151-member council in the city of Rmeilan, according to Hadiya Yousef, who chairs the council.

The council, a constituent assembly which officials say includes members of all the main political, ethnic and religious groups in the area, began meeting on Tuesday.

http://reuters.com/article/idUSKBN14H0X3

The ruling Democratic Union Party (PYD),
which is the main group in Syria’s Kurdistan and rules over an area also known as Rojava, and a number of other parties in northern Syria have discussed the draft constitution of the federation for the second day on Wednesday in a meeting held in the Kurdish city of Rmelan, the Kurdish Hawar News Agency reported.*

The official name, which received the majority of the votes, is the Democratic Federal System of Northern Syria.

The Rojava officials are saying that it is a move to include other ethnic and religious components in northern Syria.

http://rudaw.net/mobile/english/middleeast/syria/28122016#sthash.J7mJQX8q.dpuf

President al-Assad: EU officials have to recognize that solution in Syria would be only through Syrian people

Damascus, SANA-President Bashar al-Assad received on Thursday a joint delegation comprising MPs from the European Parliament and the Federation Council of the Federal Assembly of Russia.

Members of the delegation affirmed the importance of this visit to get acquainted with the reality of situation in Syria and to show support to the Syrian people in the war against terrorism as well as to congratulate Syrians on the victory achieved in the city of Aleppo, stressing their rejection of any foreign interference in the Syrian internal affairs.

During the meeting, President al-Assad briefed members of the delegation on the developments in Syria, answering their questions in this regard. The President considered that as this delegation includes MPs from a number of European parties and from Russia, it is an important signal that Russia and the European countries have common interests, stressing the important role played by parliamentarians to express the interests of their people.

As for the role that could be played by the European countries to reach a solution in Syria, President al-Assad considered that if the European countries want to help Syrian people, they must first stop supporting terrorists and lift the unjust blockade which affects the basics of Syrians’ life, affirming that the European officials have to recognize that the solution in Syria would be through the Syrian people only.

President al-Assad stressed that the Western officials must admit that the terrorist attacks taking place in their countries are a result of their wrong policies, therefore, they have to ask themselves if their policies, they adopt, were in the interest of their own people or against it.

On the fight against terrorism, President al-Assad considered that this operation is carried out through the military track which is progressing well because of the Russian support and drying the financial resources through which terrorists can recruit people, most importantly, is how to deal with terrorism as an ideology, adding that the Wahhabi mentality should be eliminated for the success in any operation of the fight against terrorism.

President al-Assad also considered that while Russia supports Syria, it is not only defending the Syrians’ security, but it also defends the security of its people and the European peoples too.

Russia, Turkey, Iran 'Achieve What Washington Couldn't Do' in Syrian Ceasefire

Russia, Turkey, Iran 'Achieve What Washington Couldn't Do' in Syrian Ceasefire
A nationwide Syrian ceasefire brokered by Moscow, Ankara and Tehran has come into effect, with several key radical groups pledging to cut ties with al-Nusra Front and Daesh. This is something Washington promised to achieve, but failed to deliver, political analyst Elena Suponina wrote for RIA Novosti.

"According to information I received from the Syrian opposition, major groups like Ahrar al-Sham, Jaysh al-Islam and others have agreed to the deal, whose main condition is that they must sever all existing ties with terrorists from Daesh and al-Nusra Front," the analyst said. "This is what the Obama administration had promised to achieve, but Secretary of State John Kerry could not do. Russia, Turkey and Iran have done it in his stead;" Sputnik reported.

The breakthrough was unveiled on Thursday by Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Suponina said that three documents were signed, adding that they are not simply aimed at ending hostilities in the country ravaged by a years-long war. These agreements appear to have paved the way for what the analyst described as a "joint strategy offering a political solution" to end the Syrian crisis.