“There is a clear American majority that does not want to disarm the Syrian Democratic Forces,” Walid Phares told Rudaw, stressing that a “secular, inclusive, pluralistic system” is not in place in Damascus to make the Kurdish-led force’s disarmament favorable.
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.
“They are friends, and there is large and broad public support in the United States for the Syrian Democratic Forces,” Phares said, adding that Washington has “allocated significant support for the SDF this year” and considers the Kurdish-led force an “ally.”
“I don’t see any alliance with any other military party, even with this regime, despite the political opening,” he 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.
Since the fall of the Assad regime, they have been in talks with the interim government in Damascus to integrate into national institutions, including the armed forces.
According to Phares, the American people have a “long history” with Syria’s components, especially the Kurds as US and Kurdish forces fought side by side against terrorism.
On Thursday, US Special Envoy for Syria Tom Barrack told Rudaw that the SDF 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.
Phares also rejected Barrack’s remarks, stressing that federalism in Syria is “necessary.”
“What makes federalism impossible in Syria? If there is any place in the Middle East where federalism is necessary, essential, and practically established, it is in Syria, Iraq, Lebanon, and Sudan,” he said, arguing that it is not impossible to have a federal system in place.
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.
Dilbixwin Dara contributed to this report.
