Kurdish Forces Are Close To Understanding With New Syrian Government – Report

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Kurdish forces controlling much of northern and eastern Syria with support from the United States have agreed to join the new Syrian military and to allow the transitional government to operate in their territories, Al-Arabiya reported on February 18.

The Saudi-owned news channel said that the decision was taken during a meeting between the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), its political wing, the Syrian Democratic Council, and its administrative body, officially known as the Democratic Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria.

In addition to merging the SDF within the new Syrian military and the return of government institutions to northern and eastern Syria, the forces agreed during the meeting to invite the country’s transnational president Ahmad al-Sharaa to visit their territories , the channel reported.

“The meeting called on the Syrian President for the transitional phase, Ahmed al-Sharaa, to visit the northeastern part of the country, raise the level of coordination between the two sides, and return the displaced from all camps to their cities, regions, and villages,” Al-Arabiya reported, citing its correspondent in Syria.

“The three main forces in northeastern Syria explained that these outcomes constitute an internal vision and a basis for starting real negotiations with the Syrian government to work on implementing them according to mechanisms agreed upon by the two parties,” it added.

Just a day earlier, Mazloum Abdi, the commander-in-chief of the SDF, congratulated Ahmed al-Sharaa on his appointment as the transitional president of Syria.

Abdi expressed hope that Sharaa “would be able to lead Syria during this sensitive [transitional] period,” and reaffirmed “his forces’ support for any effort aimed at achieving stability and national unity” across the country, according to the pro-SDF North Press Agency (NPA)

Sharaa on February 15 visited Afrin in northern Syria where he met with locals, the majority of whom were Kurds.

During the visit, the president pledged to eliminate armed groups and end security violations in the area, a representative from the Kurdish National Council (who attended the meeting told the Iraqi-Kurdish Rudaw on February 16.

Abdi described Sharaa’s visit as “a significant initiative” that would “encourage the safe return of the indigenous population” to the Kurdish-majority city and “promote dialogue.” The NPA also cited Abdi as inviting Sharaa to visit SDF-controlled cities in northern and eastern Syria.

While recent developments suggest that Kurdish forces and the Syrian government are close to an agreement, many issues are still in the way of a full understanding between the two.

It is still unclear if Turkey, the main ally of the Syrian government, would tolerate the idea of merging the SDF with the new Syrian military.

The future of the U.S. military presence in the north and east of the country is also unclear, although Syria’s Defense Minister Major General Murhaf Abu Qasra stated earlier this month that the government was open to the idea of military cooperation with Washington.

An agreement between the Syrian government and the SDF would solidify the unity of the country. It would also put an end to the ongoing clashes between Turkish-backed and Kurdish forces in the northern and eastern regions which claimed the lives of more than 500 people since the fall of the Assad regime last December.

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