KNC meets with US senior official in northeast Syria

The US official in the meeting underlined that the US will continue to keep troops in Syria to fight ISIS and keep stability in northeast Syria.

The Kurdish National Council (KNC) recently met with US senior representative to Northeast Syria Nikolas Granger (Photo submitted to Kurdistan 24).
The Kurdish National Council (KNC) recently met with US senior representative to Northeast Syria Nikolas Granger (Photo submitted to Kurdistan 24).

ERBIL (Kurdistan 24) – The Kurdish National Council (KNC) met with US senior representative to Northeast Syria Nikolas Granger, a KNC official told Kurdistan 24 to discuss recent developments in northeast Syria.

The KNC official stated that the US official underlined that in order to continue to defeat ISIS and establish peace in the area, the US forces will remain in northeast Syria.

In a statement in July the KNC, which is a member of the Syrian opposition backed by Turkey, called on Russia and the United States to pressure Turkey to not carry out an operation since it would create more problems and increase the suffering of Syrians.

Read More: KNC calls on US and Russia to stop Turkish threats

Moreover, they called on them to carry out ceasefire agreements signed in October 2019.

The US official also underlined that the US supports the UN Security Council Resolution 2254, which calls for a ceasefire and a political settlement in Syria.

“It is the same as before the United States supports UN resolution 2254, passed in December 2015,” US Ambassador James Jeffrey, who previously was the Secretary's Special Representative for Syria Engagement, told Kurdistan 24 on US policy in Syria.

He added the resolution “calls for a reconciliation process between the regime and the opposition, a new constitution and implicitly new government. The United States supports that program nothing else internally in Syria.”

Moreover, the former US Ambassador also said that the US has an agreement with Turkey in October 2019 to uphold a ceasefire in northeast Syria after Turkey’s October 2019 invasion of Tal Abyad and Serekaniye (Ras al-Ain).

“The one area where we have an agreement with the Turks is in northeast Syria, and the United States would be extremely upset if Turkey took any major new movements there and that's been made clear to the Turks.”

Read More: US coalition discusses al-Hol camp security campaign with SDF

The US senior representative to Northeast Syria Nikolas Granger and General Carl Harris, deputy of General Commander of the US-led coalition also recently met SDF officials to discuss the anti-ISIS operation in al-Hol.