“Turkey’s actions have shattered good neighbourly relations. By interfering in Syria’s internal matters, it undermines sovereignty and pursues its imperialist dreams,” Ilham Ahmed, the Foreign Relations co-chair of the Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria (AANES), said in an exclusive interview with women’s news agency JINHA, on Monday.
Ahmed accused Turkey of leveraging advisors appointed to Hayat Tahrir al-Sham’s (HTS) temporary ministries to expand its control over Syria. She described these moves as a direct threat to Syria’s territorial integrity and warned that Turkey’s actions could destabilise the entire region.
“Turkey has placed advisors in HTS ministries. This is a clear move to dominate northern Syria, but their ultimate aim is to control the entire country,” Ahmed stated.
Highlighting Turkey’s military interventions and ongoing aerial attacks on northern Syria, she emphasised that these actions reflect broader ambitions. “By violating borders and interfering, Turkey jeopardises any hope of stability or peace in the region,” she added.
Ahmed also criticised HTS, a former Al-Qaeda affiliate, which has consolidated control in Syria after the Ba’ath regime’s collapse. “The temporary government is projecting an image of readiness for change,” she noted. “However, their centralised approach risks repeating the oppressive system created by the Ba’ath regime. Only a decentralised Syria can ensure democracy and avoid another civil war.”
Ahmed urged addressing Syria’s ethnic, religious, and gender issues through decentralisation, stressing that systemic oppression of women and minorities requires local solutions. “A decentralised system empowers communities to address their unique challenges and ensures justice for all,” she argued.
She praised recent discussions between Syrian Kurdish leaders and Iraq’s Kurdish parties, including the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP). “These meetings were crucial for strengthening the Kurdish front and defining a role in Syria’s future,” Ahmed said, calling for continued unity among Kurdish factions.
Ahmed concluded by calling on international actors to prioritise Syrian sovereignty. “Turkey must respect its borders and Syrian sovereignty. Only then can we build a future based on mutual respect,” she said.
