YPG Commander General Sipan Hemo stated that Russian authorities have promised that 155 representatives of Kurds and the peoples of Northern Syria who are part of the democratic autonomous administration will participate in the meeting in Sochi, despite all objection by Turkey.

YPG Commander General Sipan Hemo spoke to the ANF about the Russia visit by the end of 2017, the meetings held there, the outcome of those meetings and YPG’s struggle in 2017.

Sipan Hemo spoke about the Deir ez-Zor and Raqqa operations in 2017 and the Qereçox (Karachok) attack the Turkish state developed in parallel with the Raqqa operation and said: “Coalition forces have seen for themselves how others tried to impede us as we fought ISIS and to prolong ISIS’ life with the Qereçox attack. That is why their support has increased by multitudes after Qereçox. Thus, Erdoğan has failed to achieve his goals. Of course the martyrs of the Qereçox attack weigh heavy on us. But today Raqqa and Tabqa are free, and Deir ez-Zor is underway. This has been possible through their memory.”

Hemo stated that YPG has been 100% successful in the battles of 2017 and continued: “But in the coming years, there needs to be stronger precautions with wider methods so we can achieve the necessary outcomes in the political arena and the discussion table. The signs for this are clear right now.”

Hemo also mentioned the relationship of SDF and YPG forces with Russia and the coalition forces and said: “We thank all these forces. They have helped us. But we are not in the debt of anybody. We are not under control of anybody either. We wage our struggle for first the Kurdish people and all the peoples of Syria. And in that framework, with the advance of our struggle we have caught the attention of large international powers and they engaged with us. Our relationship with these forces continue to this day based on these principles.”

Sipan Hemo stated that many circles believe 2018 will be the year when war ends and political discussions will come to the forefront and continued: “On the contrary, it will drag on. Battles among conflicting groups still continue in Syria. According to our estimates, in 2018 the war will get deeper around Damascus and Idlib under the guise of an intervention to Jabhat Al-Nusra or Tahrir Al Sham. There will be political discussions in 2018, but I believe military discussions will be more prominent. We are preparing ourselves for all developments and are entering 2018 with such planning.”

Hemo stated that Kurds will be invited to the summit to be held in Sochi next month and said the following on their discussions with Russia about the matter: “The Turkish state is trying very hard to sabotage this meeting. Turks say their condition for participation is that Kurds don’t participate. They use Kurdish participation as an excuse. But Russia has stated that they consider Kurds a fundamental people of Syria and don’t see any reason for crises or problems with Kurdish participation. That is the direction of the promises they made. But I can’t know if there will be any changes in the future. But I said this in the beginning as well, the meeting in Sochi is not fully realistic to discuss the issue from the fundamental perspective and to resolve anything.

Everybody now talks about how 2018 will be the year the war ends and political projects will come to the fore. That will be the nature of the discussion.”