The Syrian government has introduced what is simultaneously being called a “final offer” and an “ultimatum” for the integration of the Kurdish SDF into the Syrian armed forces, guaranteeing the Kurds significant representation in the military and the creation of new deputy ministers in the cabinet.
The two sides agreed in principle to the integration early in 2025, but the exact details have eluded them, and sparked a lot of annoyance from both the US and Turkey, who have been pushing to see the deal done and the country unified under the central government forces.
While the US is keen for the Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) to have a monopoly on arms in Syria, Turkey has been more skeptical about the terms of unification, given their historic hostility to anything resembling Kurdish autonomy or significant representation within neighboring countries.
SDF troops patrol Deir Hafar | Image from SOHR
Turkish FM Hakan Fidan warned that their “patience” was running out for the integration, and cautioned that Turkey was considering military force to try to impose some sort of settlement on the Kurds.
Kurdish reports seem more upbeat here, emphasizing that they’ll retain three divisions within the Syrian Army under this deal. The SDF leaders had expressed hope that this deal would lead to more national unity and less of a sense that the Kurds are on the outside looking in with new Syria.
On the other hand, there is a lot of mistrust among Kurds, who have been pushing for a guarantee of some measure of decentralization as a way to defend the system they’ve created during the protracted Syrian Civil War.
