Syria
Syrian interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa, in a meeting with a high-level delegation from the Kurdish National Council (ENKS/KNC) in Damascus on February 3, 2025. Photo: Syrian Presidency
ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - Syrian interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa on Tuesday received a high-level delegation from the Kurdish National Council (ENKS/KNC) in Damascus, as Syrian security forces deployed to the Kurdish-majority city of Qamishli under a newly implemented ceasefire agreement.
According to a statement from Sharaa’s office, he “affirmed during the meeting the state's commitment to ensuring the rights of Kurdish citizens within the framework of the constitution.”
The statement added that the ENKS delegation, led by Council head Mohammed Ismail, “welcomed Presidential Decree No. 13 and considered it an important step in strengthening rights and preserving cultural and social particularity.”
ENKS spokesperson Faysal Yousef told Rudaw that the visit and meetings were held “at the official request of the Syrian Ministry of Foreign Affairs.”
He said the delegation told Syrian officials that it represents a major opposition force and had come to convey the Kurdish position, stressing that “the Kurdish issue is not just a regional issue, but a national issue for all of Syria.”
Yousef said the delegation emphasized that Kurds must be a key partner in Syria’s future and that their rights should be enshrined in the constitution, adding that they “received a positive stance from Ahmed al-Sharaa and Asaad al-Shaibani.”
The meeting came as Syrian security forces on Tuesday entered Qamishli, marking the second phase of the operational implementation of an internationally brokered agreement reached last week between Damascus and the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF). A similar deployment took place on Monday in the nearby Kurdish city of Hasaka.
The agreement, published 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 maintaining local security arrangements in Kurdish-majority areas.
On Monday, the ENKS delegation also met with Syrian interim Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shibani to discuss related issues.
In a statement, Syria’s interim Foreign Ministry said the talks emphasized “the unity and integrity of Syrian territory,” adding that Shibani stressed the importance of safeguarding “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 developments follow a large-scale offensive launched in mid-January by the Syrian Arab Army and Damascus-affiliated forces to retake areas held by the SDF in eastern Aleppo, Deir ez-Zor, Raqqa, and parts of Hasaka province.
The SDF, the de facto military force in northeast Syria (Rojava), is a key ally of the US-led Global Coalition to Defeat ISIS and played a central role in the extremist group’s territorial defeat in 2019.
Updated at 9:32 pm.
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