UN Not Part of Any Talks on Observational Role on Syria’s Northeastern Border

"Any deployment of such a force under UN auspices would require a mandate from the Security Council. The UN Secretariat has not been involved in any discussion regarding any observation role in Syria," the official said, asked if the United Nations was ready to participate in the border force and if any talks on it are going on.

In a televised address on Sunday, Syrian President Bashar Assad warned the Kurds that only the Syrian state would be able to protect them against a possible Turkish offensive after US troops leave.

Syrian Army Stations Along Western Border of Manbij Region - Correspondent

30 December 2018, 18:55 GMT

On Monday, Ilham Ahmed, co-chair of the Syrian Democratic Council, the political wing of the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces in northern Syria, told UK media that an international protection force to provide an aerial defence to the Kurds should be established in the north of Syria after the withdrawal of the US troops from the country. She noted it should be composed of the states that have been participating in the fight against terrorism, as well as the United Nations.

US troops have been operating in Syria as part of an international coalition for about five years without the permission of either Damascus or the UN Security Council. The United States has supported the Kurdish-led anti-government militia that controls the territories to the east of the Euphrates River.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan announced in December that Ankara was ready to launch a military operation against Kurdish fighters on the eastern bank of the Euphrates River as well as in Syria's Manbij, if the United States did not remove the Kurdish militia from there. He later said that he had decided to postpone the start of the military operation in Syria after a phone conversation with US President Donald Trump on December 14, during which the US leader revealed his plans to withdraw troops from Syria.