DAMASCUS: Syrian Kurdish leader Mazloum Abdi has announced to AFP that he had reached a &quot;preliminary agreement&quot; with Damascus on the integration of his troops into Syria&#39;s military and security forces. Abdi, who heads the powerful Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), had met Syrian interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa in Damascus last week, along with US envoy Tom Barrack and US commander Brad Cooper. While the Kurdish forces -- who control large swathes of Syria&#39;s oil-rich northeast -- had signed an agreement with the new Syrian authorities in March to merge their civil and military institutions, the deal&#39;s terms were not implemented. &quot;What is new in our recent talks in Damascus is the shared determination and strong will to accelerate the implementation of the terms&quot; of the agreement, Abdi told AFP in an interview at a military base in the northeastern city of Hasakeh on Sunday. &quot;The most important point is having reached a preliminary agreement regarding the mechanism for integrating the SDF and the (Kurdish) Internal Security Forces within the framework of defence and interior ministries,&quot; he added. The Washington-backed SDF and Kurdish security forces consist of around 100,000 male and female members, according to them. The SDF played a vital role in the fight against the Islamic State group in Syria, which ultimately led to the jihadist organisation&#39;s territorial defeat in the country in 2019. Abdi said that military and security delegations from his forces are currently in Damascus to discuss the mechanism for their integration. Disagreements After the fall of longtime leader Bashar al-Assad in December, Sharaa announced the dissolution of all armed groups, to be absorbed by state institutions.&nbsp;Abdi explained that &quot;the SDF will be restructured through its integration into the defence ministry&quot;, as part of several formations. However, some disagreements remain. &quot;We demand a decentralised system in Syria... we have not agreed on it,&quot; he added, as they are &quot;still discussing finding a common formula acceptable to all&quot;. He stressed that they &quot;agree on the territorial integrity of Syria, the unity of national symbols, the independence of political decision-making in the country, and the fight against terrorism&quot;. &quot;We all agree that Syria should not return to the era of war, and that there should be stability and security. I believe these factors are sufficient for us to reach a permanent agreement.&quot; During the last meeting with Sharaa, Abdi said he had called for &quot;modifying or adding some clauses to the existing constitutional declaration&quot; announced in March, particularly those related to &quot;guaranteeing the rights of the Kurdish people in the constitution&quot;. &quot;There was a positive response to this matter, and we hope this will happen soon,&quot; he added. Abdi also expressed his gratitude to the United States and France for facilitating negotiations with Damascus. Asked about Damascus&#39;s main backer Turkey, which has always been hostile to the SDF, Abdi said &quot;any success of the negotiations will certainly depend on Turkey&#39;s role&quot;, expressing hope that it will play a &quot;supportive and contributing role in the ongoing negotiation process&quot;. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan urged the SDF on Wednesday to &quot;keep their word&quot; and &quot;complete their integration with Syria&quot;. When questioned on the region&#39;s fossil fuel reserves, Abdi noted they &quot;have not yet discussed the oil issue, but it will certainly be addressed in upcoming meetings&quot;.&nbsp; &quot;Oil and other underground resources in northeastern Syria to belong to all Syrians, and their revenues and revenues must be distributed fairly across all Syrian provinces&quot;.

Syrian men attend their noon prayer, left, as others play racket ball at a public beach on the Mediterranean sea, in the coastal city of Latakia, Syria. (AP)

Middle East

While the Kurdish forces -- who control large swathes of Syria's oil-rich northeast -- had signed an agreement with the new Syrian authorities in March to merge their civil and military institutions, the deal's terms were not implemented.

Syrian Kurdish leader says reached first deal on merging forces with regular army

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ISLAMABAD: Syria&rsquo;s interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa sat for an interview with former&nbsp;Central Intelligence Agency (CIA)&nbsp;Director David Petraeus in New York earlier this week.&nbsp;Petraeus, who led US forces during the Iraq War, had once overseen the capture and imprisonment of al-Sharaa between 2006 and 2011.&nbsp;Once a militant leader opposing the US presence, Al-Sharaa founded the al-Nusra Front in 2012 to fight President Bashar al-Assad&rsquo;s regime. Initially aligned with al-Qaeda, the group severed ties in 2016 and merged into Hay&rsquo;at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) in 2017, with Al-Sharaa as leader.&nbsp;HTS was designated a terrorist group by the US in 2018, but that designation was revoked in July 2025 following Assad&rsquo;s ouster and a shift in US policy. Al-Sharaa, who led the campaign that toppled Assad in late 2024, became Syria&rsquo;s interim president in January 2025. A $10 million US bounty on him was lifted in December 2024.&nbsp;A symbolic exchangeThe interview with Petraeus took place on the sidelines of the 2025 Concordia Annual Summit, a global affairs forum held in parallel with the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) in New York. The forum is known for convening political leaders, business executives, and civil society organizations to promote public-private collaboration and dialogue.&nbsp;Taking the stage together, both al-Sharaa and Petraeus acknowledged the unusual nature of their conversation.&nbsp;Petraeus concluded his interview with these remarks: &ldquo;We thank you for sharing your vision today. We wish you strength and wisdom in the difficult work ahead. We obviously hope for your success, inshallah, because at the end of the day, your success is our success.&rdquo;&nbsp;Al-Sharaa at UNAl-Sharaa&#39;s appearance at the UN General Assembly marked a historic moment: he is the first Syrian head of state to attend the assembly in nearly 60 years.&nbsp;His delegation arrived in New York on Sunday, and his schedule included meetings with various international representatives, including US Secretary of State Marco Rubio. On Monday, he addressed events held on the sidelines of the General Assembly.&nbsp;The Concordia Summit itself is a prominent event, having hosted more than 300 speakers and thousands of participants from over 100 countries in previous years. Past attendees include UN Secretary-General Ant&oacute;nio Guterres, former US President Joe Biden, and billionaire philanthropist Warren Buffett.

Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa, former US Army General David Howell Petraeus

Petraeus, who interviews Syrian President al-Sharaa, once commanded US forces during the Iraq War and oversaw his capture and imprisonment from 2006 to 2011.

Articles tagged with "Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa"

Syrian Kurdish leader says reached first deal on merging forces with regular army

Al-Sharaa interviewed by former CIA director who arrested him

Syrian Kurdish leader says reached first deal on merging forces with regular army