ALSO IN FRIDAY FORECAST
Iraqi Kurdish Leader Barzani Denounces Syrian Kurdish PYD
Video: The Destruction in Salma in Lattakia Province
Hezbollah’s Nasrallah: We Fight in Syria “As Long as Necessary”
In a show of support, Russian President Vladmir Putin called Bashar al-Assad for the first time in two years on Thursday.
A Kremlin statement said Putin called Assad to discus the long-delayed “peace” conference which the US and Russia first proposed in April:
Putin underscored the efforts by Russia and its partners to prepare for the Geneva 2 international conference and gave a positive assessment to Bashar al-Assad’s readiness to send a Syrian government delegation to this event.
The hope was expressed that the main opposition groups will show a constructive approach and take part in the conference.
Putin also “expressed satisfaction” with Assad’s cooperation in the destruction of its chemical weapons, following the Syrian regime’s chemical attacks near Damascus on August 21.
The Russian President urged Assad to alleviate the suffering of civilians while criticizing the persecution of Christians and other religious minorities by “extremists” in Syria.
Putin’s call came as Syrian Prime Minister Wael al-Halqi met the Russian ambassador in Damascus, Azmatullah Kol Mohammadov.
According to State news agency SANA, al-Halqi said that “firm Syrian-Russian relations have spared the region the woes of war and restored equilibrium to international political relations”.
Indicating a concern with Russian support for the Syrian economy, al-Halqi said “strategic relations should be paralleled with broadening the prospects of economic, commercial and industrial cooperation that open new prospects in all domains”, calling for “Russian businessmen to establish investments in Syria and carry out joint development projects”.
Friday Protests In Kafranbel: Hezbollah Is A Terrorist Organization
Posters from today’s (November 15) Friday protest in Kafranbel:
The Front Of Aleppo Islamic Scholars Calls On Insurgents To Quit ISIS
Halab News reports that the Front of Islamic Scholars has called on insurgents fighting with the Islamic State of Iraq and ash-Sham to quit the Islamist faction and join other brigades who are “sincerely” striving to fight the Assad regime. The group’s statement referenced the crimes committed by ISIS and says that those who belong to ISIS are legally responsible for the group’s criminal acts.
The statement lists a number of reasons why ISIS has become “criminalized” including that the group had attacked the Northern Storm brigade for its meeting with John McCain, though there was nothing “treasonous” about the meeting; killing members of the Northern Storm brigade, killing fighters and civilians in Azaz, causing a large strife in Azaz that resulted in the deaths of many Mujahideen, killing Muslims in insurgent-controlled areas who pass through checkpoints, including children.
Syrian Coalition Meets Russia’s Bogdanov, Says Its “Undecided” About Moscow Visit
The Secretary General of the Syrian Coalition Badraldin Jamous met Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Mikhail Bogdanov in Istanbul, who repeated that his Government is waiting for the Syrian Coalition to accept an invitation to visit Moscow, according to a statement by the Coalition on Friday.
Jamous said that the Coalition “did not go into details during the meeting (with Bogdanov). He added that “the Russian envoy is waiting the Coalition’s decision to agree to go to Moscow.” The Secretary General of the Syrian Coalition said earlier that “the negotiating team for Geneva II will be determined by the National Coalition exclusively,” and that “we will not go to Geneva for the sake of going, but in order to achieve the objectives of Geneva I represented in the conditions set by the Coalition.”
Bogdanov said that “the Syrian Coalition was positive for Geneva II”, the Coalition statement said.
The Coalition has said it will participate in the Geneva II peace talks, provided that several preconditions are met. The Coalition is demanding that President Assad step down and that a transitional government is formed, with full powers, humanitarian corridors are opened, all detainees are released and a specific timetable for negotiations is set.
The Coalition said that the Russian Foreign Ministry’s claims that the Opposition is obstructing a political solution, and aborting preparations for Geneva II, were “nothing more than failed attempts aimed at strengthening the position of the Assad regime.”
Responding to comments by Russia’s Foreign Minister that insurgents had shelled various neighborhoods of Damascus, especially Christian areas, the Coalition said that “acts and violations of the principles of the revolution such as the shelling of residential neighborhoods in Damascus are committed only by al-Assad’s militia… Assad’s regime continues to fire mortar rounds on Damascus’ densely populated neighborhoods daily, targeting schools, markets and places of worship, then blames it on the revolutionaries and employs propaganda in order to earn a few more days of ruling the country.”
Iraqi Kurdish Leader Barzani Denounces Syrian Kurdish PYD
The leader of the Iraqi Kurdistan Regional Government, Massoud Barzani, has accused Syria’s Democratic Union Party (PYD) of making “secret deals” with the Assad regime over parts of northern Syria:
PYD claims having made a revolution in Rojava [Syrian Kurdistan]. And may I ask who is this revolution targeted at? The only thing that [the PYD] does is rule in areas that the regime has conceded to them.
Barzani said the PYD violated an agreement signed on July 11, 2012 which states that all Kurdish groups in Syria would act in concert:
Unfortunately the PYD has not abided by this agreement and divided all sides. It declared itself a fait accompli military force by way of its military armament and mutual agreements it entered into with the regime.
The PYD has been boosted in recent months by victories of its military wing, the YPG, in northern Syria. Earlier this week it declared an assemlby for Rojava as a “first step” toward a transitional government. Other Kurdish groups, notably the umbrella Kurdish National Council, objected to the move.
Ankara and the US Government have also expressed concerns.
Barzani is meeting Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan in Diyarbakır in southeastern Turkey on Saturday. .
The Iraqi leader said:
PYD’s cooperation with the regime is a dangerous game for the future of our people in Rojava. PYD has not only taken control of the region, it has already started to arrest and kill members of other party members.
The PYD has dragged the Kurds into a war which does not belong to Kurds and will not bring them any gain. This war has forced thousands of Syrian Kurds to migrate, with PYD members opposing Kurdish unity and banning Kurdistan’s flag in Rojava. They have currently declared a de facto administration. This is clearly an unilateral act which disregards the other Kurdish parties.
The Iraqi Kurdistan regional administration refused Muslim’s to entrance to its territory last week, which was interpreted as a sign of the disagreements between the PYD and the KRG. The Syrian Kurdish leader stated that he had to wait for five days before ultimately being told that he would not enter Iraqi Kurdistan.
“Our piece of advice to the PYD is to maintain their unity with other parties and abide by the Arbil agreement. If the PYD only bring themselves to the forefront and push its brothers to the rear, it won’t be able to deal with the inevitable threats alone. Then the faith of the Kurds in the region would face very serious threats,” Barzani said.
Turkish commentators noted that Rojava will be the first item on the agenda in the Erdoğan-Barzani meeting in Diyarbakır on Nov. 16. The meeting is also considered as key with respect to the ongoing Kurdish peace process in Turkey.
Video: The Destruction in Salma in Lattakia Province
Footage of the devastation in Salma in Lattakia Province in western Syria — insurgents, who pursued a major offensive in the area in August, still hold the town:
Hezbollah’s Nasrallah: We Fight in Syria “As Long as Necessary”
Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah has told tens of thousands of people marking the religious ceremony of Ashoura in southern Beirut, “As long as the reasons [to fight in Syria] remain, our presence there will remain.”
Members from the Lebanese organization have been increasing prominent in the campaigns of the Syrian military since the spring.
“Our fighters are present on Syrian soil… to confront all the dangers it faces from the international, regional and takfiri attack on this country and region,” Nasrallah said on Thursday.
He pushed back against any pressure on Hezbollah in negotiations for a new ruling coalition in Lebanon: “Anyone who speaks of Hezbollah’s withdrawal from Syria as a condition to form a new government…is imposing a crippling condition.” Hezbollah would not bargain over the region’s future “for a few useless cabinet portfolios”.
Lebanon has been run without a governent since Prime Minister Najib Mikati resigned in March. Hezbollah had two ministers in the Cabinet.
