 On 8 October, SDF officials expressed their intentions to negotiate with Syrian President Bashar al-Assad for a deal that could see the entry of Syrian Army units into SDF-held territories, which they hope would forestall the planned Turkish invasion.Syria's Foreign Minister urged Kurdish forces to hand over several areas controlled by them to the Syrian Government, stating that should they refuse to do so, they would be faced with "abyss" in the face of Turkey.Masoud Barzani, senior politician in Iraqi Kurdistan Regional Government, urged Russia to intervene in the crisis in order to prevent "further suffering and pain of the Kurdish people in Syria".