Syria
Hassan al-Dugheim, spokesperson for preparatory committee for Syria’s National Dialogue Conference, speaking to Rudaw in February 2025. Photo: screengrab/Rudaw
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ERBIL, Kurdistan Region – The preparatory committee for Syria’s National Dialogue Conference plans to meet with "Kurdish elites" as part of its ongoing preparations for the event, the committee’s spokesperson said.
Asked whether the committee would visit areas under the Democratic Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria (DAANES), also known as Rojava, Hassan al-Dugheim told Rudaw's Nalin Hassan in a recent interview that “there is a military path and a political path the Syrian presidency is taking with the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF).”
However, he emphasized that “the National Dialogue is separate from military factions and their political wings.”
Dugheim noted that “the dialogue will be held with Syrian societal elites in every province,” including “Kurdish elites.” He insisted that ethnic and sectarian divisions are not influencing the sessions with these groups.
The exact date of the much-anticipated event remains unclear.
“The timing of the National Dialogue Conference sessions is not yet set and remains open to public discussions,” he said.
The conference may result in “recommendations for the establishment of an economic and investment council to drive the country’s economic recovery,” as well as proposals for “a transitional justice body” and reforms regarding “Syria’s constitutional framework, political organization, parties, and elections,” he elaborated.
Following his appointment as transitional president on January 29, Ahmed al-Sharaa, Syria’s interim president, vowed to hold a National Dialogue Conference that would pave the way for “free and fair elections.” The committee was set up on February 11 under directions from Sharaa who tasked it with “approving internal regulations and setting criteria to ensure the conference’s success.”
There are currently no Kurds on the committee. The Kurdish National Council (ENKS), an umbrella group of Kurdish opposition parties in northeast Syria (Rojava), said last week that this exclusion “raises legitimate concerns about how the Syrian constituencies are being treated” and whether they are truly regarded as “real partners” in shaping Syria’s future. It urged Damascus to address “this imbalance” and make the national dialogue “inclusive.”
In a press conference held in Damascus on Thursday, the committee stated that no group in Syria would be invited to the conference based on “entity, identity, party, or religion,” but that attendees would be selected solely on the grounds of being “Syrian and patriotic.” The committee also said that “ethnic and sectarian quotas are not part of the national dialogue agenda.”
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