Kurdish channel refuses to air Syrian President interview over "escalatory" rhetoric

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4 hours ago|

MENA

The Erbil-based Shams TV apologized for canceling a pre-recorded interview with Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa, claiming that his "unusually offensive" and "war-like" rhetoric toward the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) undermined the intended goal of regional de-escalation.
The decision follows a week of violent clashes that displaced nearly 150,000 people and ended with the Syrian Army reasserting control over the Kurdish-majority neighborhoods of Sheikh Maqsood and Ashrafieh, effectively dismantling the SDF's military presence in Aleppo.

An Erbil-based Kurdish news channel declined to air an interview with Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa, saying its broadcast was scrapped due to what it said was “escalatory rhetoric” towards Kurdish forces.

The news comes amid a backdrop of recent renewed clashes between the Syrian army and the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF).

Elie Nakouzi, Director General of the Arabic-language Shams TV, issued a televised apology to viewers and the Syrian presidency on Monday, explaining the network’s decision to pull the interview despite having already recorded it.

Nakouzi said that the shift in the Syrian military’s positions, specifically the reassertion of control over the Sheikh Maqsood and Ashrafieh neighborhoods in Aleppo, rendered the interview’s original goal of "de-escalation" impossible.

According to Nakouzi, the network initially agreed to the sit-down as a platform for al-Sharaa to reach the Kurdish public and signal a move toward regional stability.

However, the recording, which was intended to last 30 minutes, stretched to nearly an hour as al-Sharaa reportedly adopted an increasingly sharp tone, according to Nakouzi.

"From the first minutes of the dialogue, it became clear that the discourse was very high-ceilinged toward the SDF," Nakouzi said, referring to the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces.

He added that as the questioning progressed, al-Sharaa’s language became "unusually offensive," prompting the director to warn the president during the taping that his words were "verging on a war speech" rather than a message of reconciliation.

Backlash and Editorial Freedom

The decision to cancel the broadcast followed a dual-sided wave of criticism from both supporters and opponents of the Syrian administration. Nakouzi noted that significant pushback from the Kurdish public in Erbil further complicated the release.

"The goal was to foster peace and rapprochement," Nakouzi said. "When we realized the interview lacked any message of calm, the management felt it was our duty to explain why we could no longer proceed."

While Shams TV has apologized for the cancellation, Nakouzi emphasized that other networks in Erbil that were slated to co-broadcast the segment remain free to make their own decisions.