BRUSSELS - European Union foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas said Monday that she will discuss Kurdish language rights with Syrian Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shaibani amid tensions in northeast Syria (Rojava) over Kurdish representation and education rights.
In response to a question about whether she would discuss Kurdish language rights with Shaibani, Kallas told Rudaw ahead of their meeting in Brussels that "Yes, we will address these issues because also the question of minorities and their rights to have education in their own language in Syria."
"Of course, more broader, all the majorities, all the groups that are living in Syria, but of course, the Kurds issue also comes up," she added.
The diplomatic push coincides with recent tensions in Rojava over language rights as the interim government in Damascus moves to integrate civilian and military institutions. EU officials have repeatedly said reconstruction aid to Syria is conditional on verifiable progress in human rights, inclusive governance, and the protection of minorities.
Recently, Syrian authorities removed a bilingual Kurdish-Arabic billboard from the Justice Palace in Hasaka and replaced it with one written in Arabic and English. The move sparked protests, with residents chanting "Kurdistan" before tearing down the newly installed sign. A similar backlash occurred in Kobane after authorities initially installed locality signs exclusively in Arabic.
Kallas also told reporters that “For us, it is important that the minorities - all the minorities - are taken into account in the government, the inclusivity is important,” adding that “we are also offering our help in drafting the Constitution, the different laws that are necessary so that they could actually have elections.”
A Syrian presidential decree issued in January recognizes Kurdish as a “national language” and permits its teaching in schools in Kurdish-populated areas.
Ahmed al-Hilali, spokesperson for Syria’s presidential team, told Rudaw on Thursday that “Presidential Decree No. 13 recognizes Kurdish as a national language within the country, and allows Kurdish to be taught in both public and private educational institutions.”
The meeting comes amid ongoing efforts to integrate Rojava’s civilian and military institutions into Syrian state structures under a January 29 agreement between the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) and the interim government in Damascus that halted weeks of hostilities. The deal outlines the incorporation of the SDF and the autonomous administration’s civil institutions into the Syrian state.
Despite the decree recognizing Kurdish as a national language, Hilali stressed that Arabic remains “the sole official state language” and “a fundamental pillar of the constitution.”
Under Baath Party rule led by the Assad family from 1971 to 2024, Kurdish was heavily restricted in public life. Speaking, writing, publishing, and singing in Kurdish were prohibited, and Kurdish names for newborns were banned.
That changed in 2012 after Syrian government forces withdrew from Rojava, allowing a Kurdish-led administration to take control and introduce Kurdish-language education into schools.
Formal recognition and institutionalization of Kurdish-language education remain key demands of the Democratic Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria (DAANES) in ongoing negotiations with Syria’s new leadership, which took power following the ouster of longtime president Bashar al-Assad in December 2024.