ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) chief Mazloum Abdi on Monday praised the role of Germany in new Syria and its support for the Kurdish-led force following a meeting with a senior German official.
Abdi received Tobias Tunkel, director of the Middle East and North Africa office of the German foreign office, in northeast Syria (Rojava) on Sunday.
“Germany's position in support of the Syrian people in building their state on the basis of freedom, democracy, equality, and the necessity of the participation of all Syrian components in the management of their country, is greatly welcomed and appreciated,” Abdi wrote on X on Monday.
Several top German officials, including the foreign minister, have visited Syria and reiterated support for Kurdish rights in new Syria and the inclusion of the SDF in the new security apparatus.
“Rights and interests of Syrian Kurds can best be safeguarded in an inner-Syrian dialogue with Damascus. With @mazloumabdi I spoke about the urgent issues to be addressed in direct contacts between SDF and HTS [Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham] leadership. We also discussed continuous joint efforts against ISIS,” Tunkel wrote on X following the meeting.
The HTS spearheaded an offensive by rebel groups against Bashar al-Assad’s regime, toppling it in a matter of days. It has not clashed with US-backed SDF so far and its leader, Ahmed al-Sharaa, recently met with Abdi with American mediation to discuss the future of the SDF-held Rojava.
The German official Tunkel previously spoke with Abdi on the phone and held face-to-face meetings with other Rojava officials.
He said they also discussed the ongoing fight against the Islamic State (ISIS).
SDF is the main ally of the US-led global coalition against ISIS. Germany is an active member of the coalition.
“I also greatly appreciate Germany's role in supporting our forces through operations to combat terrorism and extremism to build a bright future for all Syrians,” Abdi said on Monday.
