The March Agreement with Damascus… the SDF aims to make the process succeed

Mazloum Abdi, commander of the Syrian Democratic Forces, reaffirmed his desire to ensure the success of the agreement reached with Damascus regarding the integration of Kurdish forces into the Syrian army.

On Thursday, the SDF commander said he is doing everything possible to prevent the failure of the agreement, at a time when negotiations appear to be stalled.

In a video released by the Syrian Democratic Forces, the military arm of the Kurdish self-administration in northeastern Syria, Abdi stated that “all efforts are being made to prevent this process from failing.”

The agreement reached in March between the Kurds and the new Syrian authorities stipulates the integration of Kurdish institutions into the central government, particularly their military forces, which are expected to be incorporated into the Syrian army.

The agreement was supposed to be implemented by the end of the year, but negotiations have faltered.

Abdi added that the document “did not specify a timetable” and that “the ceasefire was not tied to the end of the year,” stressing that “new meetings will be held with Damascus in the coming period to continue discussions on integrating Kurdish institutions and continuing the fight against terrorism.”

He reiterated the demand for decentralization, an issue rejected by the government in Damascus, headed by President Ahmed Al-Shar’a, who assumed power in December 2024 after the ousting of former president Bashar Al-Assad.

During a visit to Damascus this week, Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan urged the Kurds to implement the agreement and not become “an obstacle to the country’s stability.”

Ankara views the presence of Kurdish fighters along its border as a threat and has already carried out three military operations in Syria between 2016 and 2019, recently warning the Kurds that partners to the agreement are “losing patience.”

The Syrian Democratic Forces control large areas of northeastern Syria, rich in oil and wheat.

With support from the United States, they led ground operations against ISIS, which was defeated in Syria in 2019.