Syrian opposition, Saudi in row over SDF

Duvar English

The head of a Syrian opposition group has slammed Saudi Arabia over organizing a meeting in the capital Riyadh reportedly in bid to increase the influence of the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) and decrease that of Turkey.

Nasr al-Hariri, the head of the High Negotiations Committee (HNC), said that they were not invited to the meeting, where eight out of 36-member HNC, in which Turkey and Muslim Brotherhood groups have significant influence, were reportedly replaced by figures closer to Riyadh.

"We object to the meeting in Riyadh. It has no legal basis," Turkey's state-run Anadolu Agency cited Hariri as saying in a press conference in Istanbul, adding that the way the meeting was held jeopardizes the works of the Constitutional Committee.

"This doesn't help the opposition," he also said.

The meeting in Riyadh that kicked off on Dec. 28 was held to select eight independent members of the HNC, which was founded in November 2017 by the Syrian opposition.

The independents in the committee had been selected from the people suggested within the committee until the meeting in Riyadh. Saudi Arabia invited 80 people to Riyadh, prompting opposition from the committee.

'The regime will find a way to turn this into an advantage'

The committee members are concerned by the fact that figures from the SDF and the Democratic Union Party (PYD) were selected, Anadolu Agency reported.

"The regime will find a way to turn this into an advantage to escape from constitutional talks and the political process will be negatively affected," Hariri said, while criticizing the fact that those invited to the meeting in Riyadh were not independent.

"None of those invited are from inside Syria, majority are not independent and they belong to political parties or formations. We hope that Saudi Arabia reconsiders the meeting's agenda and remember the suffering of the Syrian people," he also said.

Riyadh 'rejected candidates'

İbrahim Biro from the Kurdish National Council, which was backed by Turkey against the PYD during its foundation process in 2012, said that some Kurdish candidates were rejected by Saudi Arabia for being affiliated with a political side.

Saying that the meeting was organized in a hurry, Biro noted that necessary dialogue was not established with the High Negotiations Committee regarding the independents.