US diplomats have approved an agreement to integrate Kurdish-led Syrian democratic forces into state institutions.
The US welcomes Syrian agreement to integrate the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) into state institutions.
Washington’s support comes after the Syrian presidency and the US-backed SDF announced a deal that would grant full control of the Syrian central government in a semi-automated region that has been managed by Kurdish-led alliances since 2015.
“The United States reaffirms its support for a political transition that demonstrates reliable non-denominational governance as the best path to avoid further conflict,” U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said in a statement Tuesday.
“We will continue to watch the decisions made by interim authorities, with concerns over recent deadly violence against minorities.”
On Monday, Syrian interim president Ahmed al-Sharaa and SDF commander Mazurum Abdi said they had signed a contract to merge “all civil and military institutions in northeastern Syria” with the national government, which includes the airport and oil and gas fields.
The agreement has been viewed as one of the most important political developments in the country since the collapse of longtime President Bashar al-Assad at the hands of Syrian opposition forces in December.
It’s a critical time for Damascus as they wrestling with the fallout of the waves of violence that exploded last week in the Alawite minority center.
The contract includes all ceasefires in Syria, the support of the SDF in the fight against Pro Assad’s fighters, and the affirmation that Kurds are essential to Syria and have the right to assure citizenship and constitutional rights.
The debate over the integration of the SDF into the Syrian state has been ongoing since the collapse of al-Assad, but efforts to reach agreement were hampered by the perception that the group has less committed to opposing the abdication regime than other opposition parties.
The US partnered with the SDF in 2019 in a fight with the ISIL (ISIS) armed groups, where Syrian so-called caliphate were overthrown in 2019.
Washington’s support for the SDF has put a strain on its relationship with Turkiye. This believes that Ankara is expanding the extension and group of the Kurdish nationalist Kurdistan Workers Party, which it considers as a “terrorist” organization.