SDF Arms Dispute Derails Planned Syria Talks in Paris

Asharq Al-Awsat

3 days ago

A planned meeting in Paris between Syria's government and the Kurdish-led administration in northeast Syria has been postponed without explanation, the Kurdish delegation said on Thursday, as tensions persist over the future of the US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF).
The talks, originally scheduled for Friday with participation from the US envoy to Syria, French Foreign Minister, and representatives from Britain and Germany, were seen as part of a Western-backed effort to revive negotiations between Damascus and the Kurdish-led Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria (AANES).
But Syrian state television quoted an unnamed government source saying Damascus 'has not and will not accept any discourse based on threats or preconditions that contradict the principle of state unity.'
The source warned against 'attempts to preserve armed formations or seek separation from state institutions,' saying such moves would only deepen division and tension.
'There is no room for any call for an 'independent identity,'' the official added, calling it 'a rejected separatist invitation' and reiterating that the only path to a sustainable political solution lies in returning to the 'fold of the state' and holding serious national dialogue under Syrian sovereignty and without foreign agendas.
The source also dismissed 'preconditions' for any intra-Syrian dialogue and said any insistence on maintaining armed groups outside state control was incompatible with building a unified national army.
Karim Qamar, the AANES representative in France, confirmed the postponement in comments to the Kurdish Hawar News Agency, saying the delegation had not yet arrived in Paris and there was no confirmed agenda for meetings with French or European officials.
The US and France, along with other Western capitals, had been working to bring the two sides together after a July 19 meeting in Amman involving US envoy Ethan Goldrich, Syrian Foreign Minister Faisal Mekdad, and SDF commander Mazloum Abdi reportedly yielded 'significant progress,' according to Kurdish sources cited by Asharq Al-Awsat.
The proposed Paris meeting was expected to focus on integrating SDF forces into the Syrian army and incorporating the AANES's local governance structures into national institutions — a core sticking point in long-standing negotiations.
Speaking on Wednesday to Al-Youm TV, which is affiliated with the AANES, SDF spokesperson Farhad Shami said the group considered its weapons 'a red line' and viewed them as 'Syrian arms that cannot be handed over.'
Shami said the key dispute with Damascus revolved around whether SDF fighters would join the army as individuals or as a unified bloc. 'We are ready to integrate as a single unit, not as individuals. Our negotiations are not a surrender but a dialogue between equals,' he said.
But the Syrian government source pushed back in an interview with state-run Ikhbariya TV, stating: 'No military entity outside the official Syrian army can be considered part of the state's structure,' and reiterated that any effort to maintain armed factions independent of state control would hinder a comprehensive national solution.
Kurdish sources familiar with the negotiations told Asharq Al-Awsat that Abdi's delegation had agreed with Damascus on 'broad outlines,' including retaining the SDF as a distinct formation within a single army corps, with subordinate units based in Raqqa, Deir al-Zor, and Hasakah — areas under the group's current control.
The talks in Paris, now on hold, were to be a test of whether months of quiet backchannel diplomacy could overcome entrenched mistrust — particularly over the SDF's military status and the future of Kurdish self-rule in a post-war Syria.