SDF chief arrives in Damascus for integration talks with interim government: Source

ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - Mazloum Abdi, commander-in-chief of the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), has arrived in Damascus as part of ongoing talks with the Syrian government regarding the integration of the SDF and the Kurdish administration in northeast Syria (Rojava) into state institutions, a senior Kurdish official told Rudaw on Saturday. 

The source, who spoke on the condition of anonymity due to the sensitivity of the issue, said Abdi and Syrian interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa will discuss the landmark March agreement between the two over the integration of the SDF and Rojava into the institutions of the transitional government. 

Hours after news of Abdi’s visit to Damascus dominated social media, SDF spokesperson Farhad Shami denied that such a visit had taken place.

"There is no truth to what is being circulated regarding the visit of our forces' Commander-in-Chief Mazloum Abdi to Damascus today, and any communication or political or military course of action will be announced exclusively through official channels," he said on X.

Abdi said on Thursday that the SDF had “reached a mutual understanding” with Syria’s transitional government regarding the future of the SDF and the Kurdish-led administration in Rojava. Abdi stressed that a new Syria should adopt decentralization. 

Despite this, the Syrian foreign ministry said on Friday the dialogue has not produced “tangible results,” adding that “it appears this discourse is being used for media purposes and to absorb political pressures, amid actual stagnation.”

Yasser Sulaiman, a member of the Rojava committee holding integration talks with Damascus, backed Abdi’s positive stance on the process.  

“The first stage was to form an official negotiating team on our side for the purpose of finalizing this agreement. We are working on it seriously and making efforts to ensure its success, and we have taken practical steps toward signing the final agreement in order to begin its implementation,” he told Rudaw on Friday. 

Talks to implement the accord have since been ongoing, but the two sides remain divided over how the SDF should be integrated. While Kurdish negotiators favor incorporating the forces as a unified bloc, the Syrian side prefers absorbing SDF fighters individually into regular army units.

Updated at 9:25 pm with statement from Shami