Syrian Kurdish leader meets Sharaa amid lingering doubts over integration agreement

The commander of the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), Mazloum Abdi, met Syrian President Ahmed Al-Sharaa and US envoy Thomas Barrack in Damascus on Wednesday to discuss the implementation of an agreement signed last March, which would integrate the SDF and its associated Autonomous Administration of North Eastern Syria (AANES) into Syrian state institutions.

This is Sharaa and Abdi’s second meeting in Damascus. The first took place in March, when the two leaders surprised Syria with an agreement between the government and the SDF.

The accord should see border points, airports, and petroleum and gas facilities as well as military and security forces come under the state control, but there is little sign that the agreement is being implemented.

The SDF continues to control most of northeastern Syria, operating independently of the authorities in Damascus, and an internal 'border' still exists in the country, limiting travel for Syrians.

The agreement was designed to forestall any conflict between the two sides, but this still appears to be a possibility.

The government in Damascus is keen to integrate northeastern Syria, which is rich in oil and other resources into the country.

Sources told Al-Araby Al-Jadeed that Abdi’s visit “could represent the last chance to deal with many unresolved issues".

The March agreement between Abdi and Sharaa recognises Syria’s Kurds as an "integral part of the Syrian state", guaranteeing the minority "its full constitutional rights", while emphasising "the rejection of calls for partition, hate speech, and attempts to sow discord among the elements of Syrian society".

However, Kurdish factions are still demanding "political decentralisation" and the recognition of Kurdish-controlled areas of Syria as a separate political and administrative entity by the Syrian government.

The government has rejected any form of federalism. In a previous statement by the Syrian presidency, it said that the rights of Syrian Kurds were guaranteed "within a unified Syrian state, based on full citizenship and equality before the law, without the need for foreign intervention or guardianship".

The meeting between Barrack, Abdi, and Sharaa will look to modify some clauses of the agreement, according to sources who spoke to Syria TV.

These changes are reportedly taking place at the SDF’s request and could include a change to the agreement’s time frame. The agreement was originally due to be fully implemented by the end of 2025.

The sources also said that France would join the US in overseeing the implementation of the agreement’s clauses and preventing any conflict between the parties on the ground. Sharaa met French President Emmanuel Macron in Paris last May.

At the meeting, Barrack was also planning to discuss cooperation between the Syrian government, SDF, and the international coalition against the Islamic State extremist group.

The US is reportedly seeking to transfer responsibility for fighting IS and other extremist groups in Syria to the Syrian government, which could mean a diminished role for the SDF.