ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - Syria's interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa and Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) chief Mazloum Abdi signed a landmark agreement on Monday to integrate the SDF into Syria's state institutions.
After a meeting between Sharaa and Abdi, an agreement was reached to “integrate all civil and military institutions in northeast Syria [Rojava] under the administration of the Syrian state, including border crossings, the [Qamishli International] Airport, and oil and gas fields,” read a statement by the Syrian Presidency.
The statement emphasized that “the Kurdish community is indigenous to the Syrian state, which ensures this community’s right to citizenship and all of its constitutional rights.”
Following a swift offensive, a coalition of rebel groups led by Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) - headed by Sharaa - on December 8 toppled the Bashar al-Assad regime. Sharaa was in late January appointed as Syria’s interim President.
After his appointment, Sharaa vowed to uphold the rights of all ethnic and religious groups. However, the international community has repeatedly censured the new Damascus leadership for its treatment of Syria’s minority groups.
Monday’s agreement is considered a landmark deal since the Kurdish-controlled Rojava had previously rejected centralized rule, insisting on decentralization in post-Assad Syria.
Moreover, the Kurdish National Council (ENKS), an umbrella group of Kurdish opposition parties in Rojava, last week accused the new leadership in Damascus of making unilateral decisions that excluded ethnic and religious communities.
The ENKS and the Democratic Autonomous Administration in North and East Syria (DAANES) additionally censured a key conference held by Damascus in late February, the National Dialogue Conference, as “exclusionary” for its lacking Kurdish representation. The conference was intended to pave the way for the formation of an inclusive government and the drafting of a constitutional declaration.
The agreement between Sharaa and Abdi further vows to “guarantee the rights of all Syrians to representation and participation in the political process and in all state institutions based on competence, regardless of their religious and ethnic backgrounds.”
It also called for a “ceasefire across all Syrian territories” and effectively pledged the SDF’s “support to the Syrian state in its fight against the remnants of [the] Assad [regime] and all threats to its security and unity.”
Recent violence erupted in the Alawite-majority coastal areas of western Syria, after Assad loyalists on Thursday launched attacks against security forces affiliated with the new Syrian leadership.
However, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights on Monday reported that around 1,500 people - mostly civilians - have been killed in western Syria amid the violence.
At least 973 civilians, many of whom are from the Alawite community - to which Assad also belongs - are among the death toll, according to the UK-based Observatory. The war monitor added that most of the civilian casualties were killed by government or government-affiliated forces.
The violence prompted widespread condemnation from the United Nations as well as western and regional countries. For their part, Saudi Arabia and Turkey have expressed support for Syria’s new authorities amid the unrest.
On Monday, Syria’s defense ministry said its forces had pushed the “remnants of the former regime” out of central coastal provinces like Latakia and Tartous and declared victory in their military operations.
The agreement between Sharaa and Abdi also called for “rejecting calls for division, hate speech, and attempts to spread discord among all components of Syrian society,” and urged the “return of all displaced Syrians to their towns and villages, ensuring their protection by the Syrian state.”
It stipulates that executive committees “should work and seek to implement” the provisions of the agreement “no later than the end of this year.”
The following is the full translation of the Syrian Presidency's statement regarding the historic agreement:
Based on a meeting held between President Ahmed Al-Sharaa and Mr. Mazloum Abdi on Monday, March 10, 2025, the following was agreed upon:
1- Guaranteeing the rights of all Syrians to representation and participation in the political process and all state institutions based on competence, regardless of their religious and ethnic backgrounds.
2 - The Kurdish community is an indigenous community in the Syrian state, and the Syrian state guarantees its right to citizenship and all its constitutional rights.
3- Ceasefire on all Syrian territories
4- Integrating all civil and military institutions in northeastern Syria into the administration of the Syrian state, including border crossings, the airport, and oil and gas fields.
5- Ensuring the return of all displaced Syrians to their towns and villages and ensuring their protection by the Syrian state.
6- Supporting the Syrian state in its fight against the remnants of Assad and all threats to its security and unity.
7- Rejecting calls for division, hate speech, and attempts to spread discord among all components of Syrian society.
8- The Executive Committees should work and seek to implement the agreement no later than the end of the year.
