The mainly-Kurdish groups in northern Syria have officially told Damascus they are not ready to join the government army, but would like to keep their weapons, Syrian President Bashar Assad said.

Assad made this known in an interview with Sputnik and Rossiya 24 broadcaster on Friday.

The Syrian Ministry of Defense said shortly after Russia and Turkey signed an agreement on northern Syria that it was ready to integrate these fighters.

The agreement was signed in late October in response to Turkey’s operation in northern Syria targeting the Kurdish militia, which it believes to be linked to extremist groups, and the Islamic State terrorist group (banned in Russia).

“The official response we received was that they were not prepared to join the Syrian Arab Army and that they insist on keeping their weapons in those areas.

“Also, within the framework of Syrian-Russian cooperation, we are trying to convince these fighters to join the Syrian Arab Army and fight against the Turkish invaders.

“It is the correct and proper way to restore the lands whose loss they have caused in northern Syria.

“We have to keep trying and we’ll see how things progress in the next few weeks,” Assad said. (NAN)