Syria
Syria’s interim Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shaibani (right) and Mohammed Ismail, head of ENKS, in a meeting on February 2, 2025. Photo: Syrian Foreign Ministry / Facebook
ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - Syria’s interim Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shaibani on Monday received a high-level delegation from the Kurdish National Council (ENKS/KNC) in Damascus, with discussions focused on recognizing the Kurdish people and securing guarantees for their political and national rights amid the implementation of the latest security arrangement between Damascus and northeastern Syria (Rojava).
In a statement, the ENKS delegation, led by the Council’s head, Mohammed Ismail, said that “the meeting reflected the Council's growing political presence and its pivotal role in representing the Kurdish issue on the Syrian national stage.”
The meeting was notably held hours after Syrian security forces began deploying to the Kurdish cities of Hasaka and Kobane on Monday, with deployments in Qamishli scheduled for Tuesday, marking the operational phase of the internationally brokered agreement reached on Friday between Damascus and the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF).
The agreement, reported by both the SDF and Syrian state media, outlines steps toward a permanent ceasefire and the gradual integration of the SDF’s military and civilian institutions into the Syrian state, while preserving local security arrangements in Kurdish-majority areas.
The ENKS stated noted that during the meeting with Shaibani, “Emphasis was placed on the need for constitutional recognition of the Kurdish people as a genuine partner in Syria, and on guaranteeing their national, political, and cultural rights in a manner that upholds the principle of true national partnership while preserving the distinct identity of the Kurdish people within a unified, pluralistic, and democratic Syria.”
The meeting also “addressed ways to open a serious path for political dialogue, placing the Kurdish issue in its proper position as a just national issue that cannot be bypassed in any future solution for Syria,” the statement added.
In mid-January, the Syrian Arab Army and affiliated armed groups launched a large-scale offensive to retake areas held by the SDF in eastern Aleppo, Deir ez-Zor, and Raqqa provinces, as well as near Hasaka.
The SDF, the de facto military force in Rojava, is a key ally of the US-led Global Coalition to Defeat ISIS in Syria and played a crucial role in the extremist group’s territorial defeat in 2019.
The areas now recaptured by Syrian forces and affiliated militias were previously liberated by the SDF from ISIS and had been held to prevent the extremist group from regaining a foothold.
Syria’s interim Foreign Ministry said in a Monday statement that the meeting with the ENKS delegation emphasized “the unity and integrity of Syrian territory,” citing Foreign Minister Shaibani as highlighting the importance of upholding “the rights of Kurdish citizens in Syria in a way that reinforces the principle of equal citizenship while preserving their cultural and social distinctiveness within a unified Syria.”
The ministry statement further noted that the ENKS delegation welcomed a mid-January decree issued by interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa, which guarantees Kurdish “rights and certain particularities,” reportedly describing it as “an important step for Kurds to obtain their rights.”
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