German diplomat meets Rojava officials over Damascus talks, US pullout
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ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - The Kurdish administration in northeast Syria (Rojava) on Saturday received a senior German diplomat for talks on negotiations with Damascus, political developments, and the future of the United States military support in the Kurdish enclave.
Margarete Jacob, the chargé d'affaires of the German mission in Damascus, visited the foreign affairs department of the Kurdish-led Democratic Autonomous Administration in North and East Syria (DAANES) in the city of Qamishli in Rojava.
'The experience of the Autonomous Administration on the ground, the unity of Syrian territory, and the latest developments regarding negotiations between the Autonomous Administration and the Damascus government were discussed,' read a statement from DAANES.
In March, Syria's interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa and Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) chief Mazloum Abdi signed a landmark deal to integrate 'all civil and military institutions' in Rojava under the administration of the Syrian state. The SDF is the de facto army of the Kurdish-majority enclave.
Rojava officials and the German diplomat further discussed 'the terms of the [Sharaa-Abdi] agreement, the committees formed [by both sides] to negotiate the administrative structures of the Autonomous Administration, and how to integrate it under the [administration of the] central government in Damascus were discussed,' added the statement.
For her part, the chargé d'affaires of the German mission in Damascus, Jacob, was cited by the DAANES statement as stressing 'the need to work towards a comprehensive political process and to continue dialogue with all components of Syria.' She further praised the administrative and military agreements between Damascus and Qamishli.
The Saturday meeting additionally touched on the US's decision to reduce the number of its troops in Syria and the implications of Washington's decision on Rojava and the SDF amid the ongoing fight against the Islamic State (ISIS).
On Friday, a US defense official had told Rudaw on condition of anonymity that Washington plans to reduce its military footprint in Syria 'to less than one thousand [personnel] in the next two to three months.'
A Pentagon spokesperson, Sean Parnell, later said the US was consolidating forces 'to select locations in Syria,' but emphasized that American troops 'will remain poised to continue strikes against ISIS remnants.'
US forces in Syria backed the SDF as it led the offensive to territorially defeat ISIS in 2019.
Abdi has repeatedly warned that a US withdrawal could embolden an ISIS resurgence. In mid-January, he stressed the 'need to intensify efforts to continue the fight against ISIS if we don't want to see it make a comeback.'
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