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ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - US President Donald Trump’s administration is focused on supporting a unified Syria that respects its components and functions as a “unit” rather than Kurdish self-governance in the northeast, a former American diplomat said on Sunday.
“Syria has to be able to function as a unit, under a government that respects the rights of the people within Syria,” Joanne Cummings, a former Foreign Service Officer in the Department of State, told Rudaw.
Her remarks follow those of US Special Envoy for Syria Tom Barrack, who told Rudaw on Thursday that the SDF [Syrian Democratic Forces] has been “slow” in negotiating with the Syrian government, asserting that federalism in Syria “doesn’t work.” His remarks soon sparked outrage among Kurds on social media.
“The policies right now are for Syria to be held together under a government that respects the people within the country in a way that will not lead to further tensions along the borders,” she said.
The Kurdish-led SDF is a partner force of the US-led global coalition against the Islamic State (ISIS). They fought the lion’s share of the battle to territorially defeat the jihadists in their Syria stronghold, suffering more than 10,000 casualties in the conflict.
According to Cummings, the strong relationship between Washington and the Kurdish-led administration in northeast Syria (Rojava), particularly the SDF, was mainly for ensuring the defeat of ISIS.
“Even though there is a strong sense among the leaders of the SDF that there is a political linkage, a political alliance, and that the United States, by supporting the SDF in its fight against ISIS, had made some sort of commitment to the status of the SDF in Syria, that was never part of the discussion. It sounds very hard to say that,” she explained.
The SDF is the de facto army of Rojava - the Kurdish-controlled northeast region of Syria. During the civil war, Kurds established an autonomous administration, carving out large swathes of territory ceded by former Syrian president Bashar al-Assad.
Kurds are also concerned about the centralization of power and the prominence of Islamic law in the transitional constitution adopted by Syria’s interim government. They have called for federalism and repeatedly denied that they seek to divide the country.
In March, SDF commander Mazloum Abdi signed a deal with interim Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa to integrate Rojava’s civil and military institutions into those of the state. The two sides have continued discussions to implement the agreement.
Nalin Hassan contributed to this report.
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