Damascus, SDF reach 'mutual understanding' on Kurdish-majority areas: Syrian presidency

ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - The Syrian government on Tuesday reached "a mutual understanding" with the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) on several issues concerning the future of the Kurdish-majority Hasaka province, Syrian state media reported.

The state-run Syrian Arab News Agency (SANA) cited the Syrian presidency as confirming that "a mutual understanding has been reached between the Syrian government and the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) on a number of issues concerning the future of Hasaka province."

"It was agreed to grant the SDF a period of four days for consultations to develop a detailed plan for the practical mechanism of integrating the areas," SANA relayed, citing the presidency as noting that "if an agreement is reached, Syrian forces will not enter the centers of [the predominantly Kurdish cities of] Hasaka and Qamishli and will remain on their outskirts." It added that "the timeline and details of the peaceful integration of Hasaka, including Qamishli, to be discussed later."

Syrian military forces will reportedly "not enter Kurdish villages, and no armed forces will be present in those villages except for local security forces from the area in accordance with the agreement," the presidency added.

The agreement comes against the backdrop of a mid-January military operation that was kicked off by the Syrian Arab Army and affiliated armed groups to seize control of SDF-held areas east of Aleppo and later to Raqqa and Deir ez-Zor and most recently in Hasaka.

Syrian interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa on Sunday said he had signed a 14-point agreement with SDF Commander Mazloum Abdi to “immediately” halt the violence in the Kurdish-led enclave and integrate areas administered by the SDF into state institutions.

Under the accord, Damascus is set to assume responsibility for ISIS detainees and their families currently held by the SDF.

In a late-night video message on Sunday, Abdi said the SDF remains determined to protect the “achievements” of Rojava despite a “war” being imposed on his forces.

The SDF chief had also traveled to the Syrian capital on Monday to meet Sharaa for talks. However, a senior official from the Kurdish-led administration in Rojava told Rudaw that the meeting was not positive, accusing the transitional government of seeking to dismantle Kurdish self-rule and opposing Kurdish rights.

Importantly, the Syrian presidency said Tuesday that per the latest agreement, Abdi "will propose a candidate from the SDF for the position of Deputy defense minister, as well as a candidate for Hasaka governor, names for parliamentary representation, and a list of individuals for employment within Syrian state institutions."

The Syrian presidency added that “the two sides agreed to integrate all SDF military and security forces into the defense and interior ministries," while noting that “discussions will continue on the detailed mechanism of integration” and that “civil institutions will be incorporated into the structure of the Syrian government."

The implementation of the understanding "will begin at 8:00 pm [local time] today [Tuesday]," the statement concluded.

Last updated at 6:55 pm.