Murhaf Abu Qasra, the defense minister of Syria’s new administration, said on Wednesday that the administration expects “excellent” relations with Türkiye.
Stating they will hold talks with Eastern and Western countries on equipping the national army, Abu Qasra told reporters in the capital Damascus that they continue to discuss the presence of the Turkish Armed Forces in Syria with Turkish officials.
Regarding the terror group PKK/YPG, he said that it must dissolve itself before the National Dialogue Conference.
When asked about the PKK/YPG terrorist group's position on the issue of armed groups dissolving themselves and gathering under the roof of the Ministry of Defense, Abu Qasra stated: "Negotiations are ongoing. We are ready for any scenario."
Recalling the PKK/YPG terrorists' claim that "there are 10,000 Daesh fighters" in their prisons, Abu Qasra said that they estimate the correct number to be 2,500.
In its 40-year terror campaign against Türkiye, the PKK – listed as a terrorist organization by Türkiye, the U.S. and the European Union – has been responsible for the deaths of over 40,000 people, including women, children and infants.
The PKK/YPG terror group has sought to exploit uncertainty since the fall of the Bashar Assad regime to step up efforts to establish a "terrorist corridor" along the border with Türkiye.
On the Israeli army's continued occupation of Syrian territory after the fall of the Baath regime, going beyond the Golan Heights and the buffer zone, Abu Qasra said they are "in contact with mediators to stop the Israeli advances in the south."
"We are pressuring them to withdraw," he added.
Abu Qasra said that meetings were held with over 70 different groups, including the Syrian National Army (SNA), military factions in southern Syria and the Free Syrian Army (FSA) based in al-Tanf.
"Everyone was positive about our vision of uniting under the umbrella of the Ministry of Defense," Abu Qasra said, underlining that they do not deem it appropriate for the military groups to act in separate blocs.
He noted that a committee of 10 high-ranking commanders has been formed in the ministry and will review the army's chart, adding that the transfer of commanders who left the Syrian army in the past will be completed within two months.
"The number of commanders who left the army in northwestern Syria, commanders who left the army at the beginning of 2011 and worked with opposition groups, and officers abroad is 6,400 to 7,000," Abu Qasra said.
He also expressed their desire to purchase mine disposal machinery and equipment from Türkiye to clear the mines left behind by the ousted Assad regime forces in Syria.
Abu Qasra said that the Foreign Ministry of the new administration is working on shaping relations with Russia, adding: "Iran should take its hands off Syria. Syrian Shia components are Syrian components."
"In order to repair the gap between society and the army, the army's duty will be to protect the homeland and the people.
"The Ministry of Defense is not an institution belonging to one side, it belongs to Syrians," he highlighted.
Abu Qasra added that the new administration has a great capacity to cope with the Daesh terrorist group.
