Besê Hozat, co-chair of the Executive Council of the KCK (Community of Kurdistan Societies), spoke to Medya Haber. Among other things, Besê Hozat spoke about the isolation of Abdullah Öcalan, the deadly attack carried out on 23 December in Paris, the guerrilla warfare, the Turkish chemical weapons attacks and the partial withdrawal of the Turkish army from the Zap region in southern Kurdistan, the multidimensional warfare and the fragile state of the AKP-MHP government.

Hozat also made a detailed assessment of the situation in Syria, especially against the background of the rapprochement between Ankara and Damascus. Last week, the Turkish and Syrian defense ministers met in Moscow. Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu and the intelligence chiefs of all three countries also took part in the talks. Ankara then announced that a meeting between presidents Vladimir Putin, Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Bashar al-Assad was planned for the second half of January.

Besê Hozat said: “The meeting in Moscow was very important and we must evaluate and understand it in all its dimensions. It was, of course, the result of an overall process. As you may recall, a summit between Russia, Iran and Turkey took place in Tehran in August. A week later, there was a Turkish-Russian summit in Sochi, followed by one or two Astana-style talks.

For several years, there have been intensive secret talks between the Turkish intelligence chief Hakan Fidan and his Syrian counterpart, Ali Mamlouk, in Moscow, Baghdad, Damascus and elsewhere. As a result of this process, came the meeting that took place in Moscow, where a kind of roadmap was presented to the public. The sides involved say that Damascus and Ankara are establishing ties to negotiate problem-solving and start a step-by-step process. Turkey supports such a development and Damascus is also preparing for it. Russia and Iran have also commented positively on this policy.”

Global political economy

Hozat continued: “This step cannot be viewed independently of the regional and global political situation and developments in Syria. Russia is currently having major difficulties due to the Ukraine war. Ukraine is of strategic importance to Russia, which wanted to conquer and dominate the whole country. In doing so, fundamental strategic purposes were pursued. By occupying Ukraine, Russia wants to completely end NATO's influence there. It is a basic need for Russia to have Ukraine on its side. Turkey is a NATO country. In this way, Turkey will cut off all previous support for Ukraine. This is a great achievement for Russia. At the same time, Russia wants to keep Turkey at its side as a NATO state, expand mutual trade relations and thus make Turkey a gateway to the world.

In return, Russia is making concessions to Turkey regarding the Kurds. The Kurds are sacrificed to dirty deals, and that is accepted. At the same time, Russia is also looking at the US and the state of NATO, which in turn want to keep Turkey on their side and will therefore not make a big deal out of these developments. Turkey has not complied with the embargo against Russia and nothing has been said about it either. This is now included in the concessions.

For Turkey it is not a tactical approach

Turkey wants to benefit from Russia to eliminate the Rojava revolution. In any case, Russian and Iranian politics have pursued an agreement between Damascus and Ankara from the start: Damascus is to control all of northern and eastern Syria and the Kurds are to be given a few cultural rights in return.

In the current situation, Turkey has accepted this equation via Russia and agreed to talks with Damascus. This is being discussed and there are people who think that Turkey is only talking to Damascus for tactical reasons because of the upcoming elections. However, this is not true. It is not a tactic. Of course, it is about an election victory, and this policy will be useful in the elections. Russia wants Erdogan to win the elections in Turkey anyway. Russia is clearly committed to this. It is understood that this process serves Erdogan. The opposition that is inherent in the system in Turkey, especially the CHP, has been suggesting that the respective governments move closer to Damascus for years. In this respect, it is a question of Turkish state policy, including the government and the opposition, if we do not count the democratic opposition. The so-called table of six [electoral alliance between the CHP and the IYI party] will not criticize and press the fascist government too much for this. This is also an advantage. In this way, this part of the opposition is silenced.

Part of the genocidal plan

In this respect, of course, it is about the elections, but essentially, it is a genocidal plan, part of the plan to carry out colonialist genocide on the Kurds. So it's definitely not a tactic. Turkey has changed its Syria policy. At the moment, Turkey wants to come to an agreement with the regime to eliminate the Rojava revolution and the autonomous administration of North and East Syria and is looking for Russian and Iranian support for this. In any case, Iran is opposed to Turkey being a hegemonic power in Syria. But in this way, Turkey wants support from Russia and Damascus, in particular, in order to destroy the autonomous administration.

And Russia's policy is to use the Turkish state as a constant threat and leverage against the people and autonomous administration to make Northeast Syria surrender to the regime. The Turkish threats are being used as a means of blackmail. The Turkish state hovers over the autonomous administration as a constant stick in order to force it to capitulate to the regime. Russia wants the Rojava revolution to capitulate. At the same time, Russia acts from time to time as an alleged mediator between the regime and the Kurds, to use as leverage against Turkey and saying to it that if it doesn't agree with the regime, the Kurds might. Russia uses that as a second tool.

Everyone wants to play the trump card in hand

This policy leads Russia as a hegemonic regional power. Turkey is also used. In its own interest, Russia holds both Turkey and the Syrian regime in its hands. Of course, this poses a serious threat. The meeting in Moscow resulted in the following: This trio will put serious pressure on the population and the autonomous administration of North and East Syria. The existing pressure will be intensified. They will also intensify forms of attack to get the autonomous administration to hand over northeast Syria to the regime. Damascus should control the entire region.

Turkey will try to use the mercenaries in its hands as leverage against the regime. It has tens of thousands of mercenaries on its hands. These mercenaries have occupied areas from Idlib to Serêkaniyê, and, of course, in Afrin they are based all over. Turkey has been feeding these mercenaries, training and equipping them for years. It wages wars with them in the world and also uses them to keep Europe in line. The relationship with the Islamic State is obvious. The Turkish state uses ISIS.

Turkey has embarked on a process, but it is a very dark process. In this context, Turkey has been doing extremely dirty things for years. It is not easy to get these mercenaries to agree to something. This process will not result in easy changes. The Syrian regime will demand the liquidation of these mercenaries. Damascus sets conditions: Idlib is to be handed over and cleaned up, Turkey is to withdraw. Turkey has occupied many territories and some places are governed as if annexed to it. Idlib, Cerablus, Bab, Afrin, Serêkaniyê and Grî Spî have been annexed. District offices and a police force were set up and schools were opened, with instruction in Turkish. A demographic change and assimilation is being carried out, genocide is being carried out. The areas are occupied and annexed. That's the situation. And what is to become of it now? Will it be easy?

There are internal and external dynamics in Syria

There are many dynamics and players in Syria. Not only Russia, Syria, Turkey and Iran are present, but all world powers. The 72 countries of the so-called anti-ISIS coalition are in Syria. There are many internal and external dynamics in Syria. There is a resisting people, resisting peoples who have driven ISIS to defeat. These people  have been fighting against occupation and genocide with great success and will for years. They are resisting Turkish attacks. This fight will also continue against these types of measures and attacks. This is a very powerful dynamic.

It won't be easy in Syria

So there was a meeting in Moscow and there will be more meetings. It is very likely that Turkish Foreign Minister Çavuşoğlu will speak with his Syrian counterpart under Russian aegis in the next stage. Another stage could be a meeting between Erdogan and Assad. But these processes will not be easy. Such developments are not as easy as claimed. They are confused, uneven and chaotic. It is unclear what will happen when. Therefore, a simple agreement between Syria and Turkey does not seem likely. It will not be easy to reach the agreement that Turkey wants. That too must be clear to us. Not everyone can easily implement the plans and maps drawn up on paper. There is a fighting population, a dynamic fighting for democracy and freedom. The reality is different. It is not based on what the ruling powers are discussing and planning. The reality of life is different. The truth of peoples is different. Past experience proves that.

An agreement with the Kurds would also be in the interest of Damascus

I would like to say one more thing about this. It is in Damascus' interest to negotiate and reach agreement with the Kurds. I do not believe that the Syrian state will agree with Turkey to fight the Kurds and commit genocide against them. Damascus knows what that would mean. It is the Arab-Kurdish alliance that has kept Damascus on its feet for years. With the Arab-Kurdish unit, Syria was freed from the plague of ISIS. The autonomous administration of north-east Syria stands for a democratic unity of the peoples, for an alliance.

If Turkey has to accept Assad today and the world has also come to this point, it is thanks to the struggle carried out by the SDF and the peoples of North and East Syria. It is thanks to the struggle of the YPG and YPJ, thanks to their resistance. In my opinion, Damascus knows that too. From the beginning, Damascus did not pursue such a colonialist and genocidal policy as the Turks did against the Kurds. In a certain way, their own culture and language, the Kurds, have been left alive in Syria. It is therefore in Damascus' interest to reach an understanding with the Kurds. It would be political suicide for Damascus to act on the basis of Turkish politics. The government in Damascus and the Syrian state have sufficient experience and are aware of this. That's how we think about it and that's why it's important. If Syria relies on negotiating with the Kurds and solving the problem on a democratic basis, and if democratization is made the basic principle, then Damascus will benefit as much as the Syrian state and peoples of Syria and the region. This would strengthen Syria and make it a respected and recognized country in the world.