Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa met with the commander of the Kurdish Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), Mazloum Abdi, and US Special Envoy for Syria, Thomas Barak, to discuss the reintegration of Kurdish-controlled areas into the Syrian state, DPA reported, quoted by BTA.
The talks could lead to a change in the political landscape of post-war Syria.
A Kurdish delegation has visited Damascus to discuss the implementation of the March 10 agreement signed with the Syrian government. The agreement outlines the terms for restoring state authority in northeastern Syria, which is predominantly under Kurdish control. The delegation also includes representatives of the Kurdish Autonomous Administration.
In an interview with the Kurdish media network “Rudaw“, US envoy Barak described the Syrian government as showing “incredible enthusiasm“ to unify institutions under the banner of “one state, one nation, one army, one government“.
He criticized the SDF for the slow pace of engagement, saying: “My advice to them is to speed up the process. I think the SDF has been slow in accepting, negotiating and moving forward. There is only one path and it leads to Damascus. Time is running out,” Barak said.
The Syrian government told DPA that Barak had informed Damascus that all SDF forces would withdraw east of the Euphrates River by August 17. The talks focused on the elimination of parallel institutions and the integration of local government into national structures, the agency notes.