The head of the Jareera Foreign Relations Commission of Syrian Kurdistan, ‘Abdul-Karim ‘Umar, issued a response on Tuesday, June 26 to Syrian President Bashar Al-Assad’s threats to retake northern Syria through military means, Al-Masdar News reports.

According to a report from BasNews, ‘Umar said that the Kurdish-led People’s Protection Units (YPG) will not withdraw from northern Syria, despite the threats made by the Syrian President.

However, ‘Umar told the Erbil-based news publication that his organization is ready for dialogue with Damascus, under no preconditions.

The Syrian military and YPG currently share control of several areas in northern Syria, including the provincial capital of Al-Hasakah and border-city of Al-Qamishli.