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Kurds Vow to Defend Themselves By Any Means as Turkish Incursion Into Syria Begins - SDC

WASHINGTON (Sputnik) - Syria's Kurds are prepared to defend themselves by any means after Turkey launched a military operation in the northern part of the country, according to the Syrian Democratic Council’s (SDC) US Representative and Member of Presidential Committee Bassam Saker.
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"We will defend ourselves by any way [...] I don’t know what to say. It has started. The people are really in panic now, and it really has started, they started bombing", Saker said.

The Turkish military operation in Syria may, however, hamper the SDF fight against the Daesh terror group.

"The Pentagon did not say that they will withdraw, that there is a green light, they support us to defeat, to continue fighting ISIS [Daesh]", Saker said, adding that "but in this case I don’t know if it will happen because our forces will defend themselves".

Saker said he has read in the news that the United States is still supporting the Syrian Kurds by providing weapons, but not in the border area in the north of Syria.

Asked about receiving potential support from the United States, Saker said that they did not promise to defend [...] We know that they will never be involved in this battle”.

Saker noted that SDC is in contact with US officials and met with State Department representatives on Tuesday.

"There is no green light for Turkey to attack", Saker said. "If they attack, there will be some decisions [made] against Turkey, as I understood it".

The SDC, the political arm of the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), welcomes Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov encouragement for establishing a dialogue between the Kurds and Damascus, and believes such talks could be helpful amid Turkey’s military offensive, Saker noted.

"We are welcoming what Mr. Lavrov said - that we are encouraging talks between the Syrian government and the self-administration", Saker said.

Saker said Lavrov has encouraged conducting such talks, and he believes signals have been given for the talks to take place, but added that he is not sure if they would materialize.

Saker also said such talks should be helpful given that the Syrian government should defend its border, noting that "This border belongs to Syria, it’s not only for us, it is part of Syria."

Earlier on Wednesday, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan announced the start of a military operation in northern Syria against the Kurdish fighters and members of the Daesh terror group. Erdogan said the goal of the operation is to neutralize terror threats against Turkey and establish a safe zone.

Turkey views Kurdish forces in Syria as an extension of the Kurdistan Worker’s Party (PKK), which has been classified by Ankara as a terrorist organization.

*Daesh (ISIS, ISIL, IS, Islamic State) is a terrorist group banned in Russia and many other countries.

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