President Barzani discusses Kurdish file with US envoy, Syrian interim president

ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - Kurdistan Region President Nechirvan Barzani on Friday met with Tom Barrack, the US special envoy to Syria and Washington’s ambassador to Turkey, and Syrian interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa on the sidelines of a major diplomacy forum in Turkey, with discussions focusing on Kurdish affairs in Syria and regional developments.

On the sidelines of the Antalya Diplomacy Forum (ADF), President Barzani first met Barrack to discuss “the relationship of the Kurdistan Region and Iraq with the United States,” according to a statement from the Kurdistan Region Presidency.

The two officials also discussed the implications of the Iran-Israel-US war on regional security, “stressing the need for collaboration and sustained efforts to build lasting peace and uphold stability across the region,” the statement added.

Importantly, President Barzani and Barrack discussed “the recent developments in Syria and the situation of the Kurds within the country.”

The Syrian interim government and the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) signed a landmark agreement on January 29, brokered with mediation from Kurdish leaders in the Kurdistan Region and the US through Barrack.

The deal followed a sharp escalation in northern Syria which saw Damascus forces and affiliated armed groups seize territory previously held by the Kurdish-led forces in eastern Aleppo, Raqqa, Deir ez-Zor, and the Kurdish-majority Hasaka province in mid-January.

The SDF, which functions as the de facto military force in northeast Syria (Rojava) and is a key partner of the US-led Global Coalition against the Islamic State (ISIS), has controlled parts of northeast Syria since helping defeat the group to prevent its resurgence.

The January 29 agreement outlines a ceasefire and integration framework under which the SDF is to be incorporated into Syrian state military and administrative structures, alongside the integration of civil institutions in Rojava into the national system.

It also provides for the recognition of Kurdish linguistic and cultural rights, the integration of SDF personnel and civil servants into state institutions, and expanded political representation for Kurdish areas, including roles in local governance.

Syrian interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa on Thursday received SDF Chief Mazloum Abdi and Elham Ahmad, a leading figure from the Rojava administration, in Damascus to advance the implementation of the agreement.

President Barzani on Friday met Sharaa on the sidelines of the forum in Antalya, where he commended the Syrian interim President “for his continued efforts to stabilize Syria and for the progress made in implementing the agreement with the SDF,” the Kurdish President said in a post on X.

He added that they also discussed strengthening ties between Iraq, the Kurdistan Region, and Syria “to advance shared security and economic objectives.”