Syrian Democratic Council (SDC) is in dialogue with all active parties involved in the Syrian issue, including Russia, to avoid Turkey’s aggression, Ilham Ahmed, the chair of the Executive Committee of SDC, said on Tuesday during a symposium held by the American New Lines Institute about Turkey’s threats, North Press reported.

“However, the war in Ukraine has affected the Syrian issue, as well as all other international relations,” Ahmed added.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan had announced in June plans to carry out new major military cross-border incursions into northern Syria cities Manbij and Tell Rifat.

The project of Autonomous Administration of North in East Syria (AANES) offers democratic solutions to the Syrian issue and the Syrian people, whereas Turkey threatens the future of Syria, she said.

Turkey tries to “exploit and gain support of NATO to fight the forces that fought and defeated the extremist Islamic State organisation (ISIS), which we condemn,” she said.

Areas occupied by Turkey in northern Syria have become a safe environment for ISIS and other extremist groups such as Hayat Tahrir al-Sham [HTS, formerly al-Nusra Front], she added.

AANES was founded in Kurdish majority region Afrin in 2014 and includes all the communities of north and east Syria including SDC. Later, it was expanded to Manbij, Tabqa, Raqqa, Hasakah and Deir ez-Zor after the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) militarily defeated ISIS.