ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - The Kurdish community and northeast Syria (Rojava) are integral parts of Syria, the country’s United Nations Ambassador Ibrahim Olabi told Rudaw on Wednesday, urging faster integration of the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) into the Syrian state’s command structure.
On March 10, Syrian interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa and SDF chief Mazloum Abdi signed a landmark agreement in Damascus to integrate “all civil and military institutions” in Rojava - including the SDF - under the command of the Syrian state. The deal also called for enforcing a “ceasefire across all Syrian territory.”
Speaking to Rudaw on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly (UNGA) in New York, Olabi emphasized the importance of the Sharaa-Abdi meeting, noting it was “the first time a senior Kurdish figure and military leader came to Damascus, a picture was taken and an agreement was signed.”
However, he expressed dismay that the implementation of the agreement “is slow,” adding, “This is obviously frustrating and this is not what we would like to see.
“The northeast [Rojava] is an integral part of Syria; the Kurdish community is an integral part of Syria,” Olabi affirmed.
While the US-backed March agreement has been partially implemented, key disagreements remain between Damascus and the SDF, particularly over the definition of "integration." The SDF seeks to join the Syrian forces as a unified bloc, while Damascus insists on individually absorbing SDF fighters into the national army.
Olabi’s remarks notably mirrored those made a day earlier by Sharaa, who noted “a slowdown” in the implementation of the March 10 agreement.
In a veiled criticism of the SDF, he added that “organizations cannot control all the members they comprise, and they have some decentralization ambitions, which in reality mean division.”
The SDF, backed by the United States, operates as the de facto military force in northeast Syria and remains a key partner of the US-led global coalition against the Islamic State (ISIS).
When asked about minority representation within Syria’s UNGA delegation, Olabi affirmed the delegation’s diversity while stressing that its members were not selected “based on sectarian identity” but rather on “their commitment to an inclusive, diverse Syria.”
Sinan Tuncdemir contributed to this report.