Negotiators have reached ground zero to disarm Syria’s last battlefield

By Jonathan Spicer, Tuvan Customs and Maya Gebeley

ISTANBUL/DAMASCUS (Reuters) – Negotiators failed to reach an agreement on the fate of Kurdish forces, which the United States considers key allies of Islamic State but which neighboring Turkey sees as a national security force, one of the most explosive questions over Syria’s future. threat

Diplomatic and military negotiators from the United States, Turkey, Syria and the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces are showing more flexibility and patience than their public statements suggest, a dozen sources told Reuters. Discussions in recent weeks.

This could pave the way for a deal in the coming months that would allow some Kurdish fighters to withdraw from northeast Syria and bring others under the authority of the new defense ministry, the six sources said.

However, many thorny issues should be resolved, he said. These include how to integrate the SDF coalition’s well-armed and trained fighters into Syria’s security framework and how to manage territory under their control that includes key oil and wheat fields.

SDF commander Mazloum Abdi said in an interview with Saudi Arabia’s Asharq news channel on Tuesday that the alliance’s “fundamental desire” is decentralization – a possible challenge to Syria’s new leadership, which wants to bring the entire country back under state authority. ousting Bashar al-Assad last month.

Mr. Abdi pointed out that the SDF has no intention of disbanding, and is open to linking up with the Ministry of Defense and operating as a “military group”.

In an interview with Reuters on Sunday, Syria’s new defense minister, Murhaf Abu Qasra, rejected that approach, saying the proposal to keep the SDF in one group was not correct.

Former rebels now in power in Damascus have said they want all armed groups to join the Syrian government under a single mandate. Asked for comment, the SDF referred Reuters to the commander’s interview.

How much autonomy the Kurdish factions retain depends on whether U.S. President Donald Trump continues Washington’s long-standing support for its Kurdish allies, diplomats and officials on all sides say.

Trump has not spoken publicly about his intentions, including plans to deploy nearly 2,000 US troops in Syria. A representative for Trump declined to comment.

Any deal is contingent on Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan rejecting a threatened military offensive against the Kurdish militia, the YPG, which leads the SDF coalition.

They see them as an extension of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), which has been waging an insurgency against the Turkish government since 1984 and is considered a terrorist organization by both Turkey and the US.

Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan said this month that Syria’s new authorities “must be given a chance to stop the occupation and terror caused by the YPG,” but did not say how long Ankara would wait for disarmament before launching an offensive. .

A Turkish Foreign Ministry source said the disarmament of armed groups and the release of “foreign terrorist fighters” are essential for Syria’s stability and territorial integrity.

“We are expressing our expectations strongly in our relations with the United States and the new administration in Damascus,” the source said.

Deep conversations

US and Turkish officials have been holding “very intensive” talks since the insurgents led by Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), a former al-Qaeda affiliate, launched a lightning attack on their northwestern stronghold. diplomat told Reuters.

The diplomat said the two countries had a “common view of where things should go,” including a commitment to the withdrawal of all foreign fighters from Syrian territory, adding that Turkish negotiators “have a very high sense of urgency” to resolve things.

But the diplomat, who asked not to be named like other sources, said the talks were “very complicated” and time-consuming.

Parallel talks are underway between the US and both the SDF and HTS, Turkey and HTS, and SDF and HTS, officials from all sides said.

The Kurds, part of a stateless ethnic group that has swept through Iraq, Iran, Turkey, Armenia and Syria, were among the few victors in the war in Syria, where the US campaign against the Islamic State took control of predominantly Arab areas. They now occupy nearly a quarter of the country.

But Assad’s fall has left Syrian Kurdish groups victorious over Turkish-backed militias in the northeast and the country’s new rulers in Damascus friendly with Ankara.

Turkey, which has provided direct support to some rebel groups against Assad, has become one of the most influential power brokers in Syria since his fall. Like the US, it has designated HTS as a terrorist organization because of al-Qaeda, but Ankara is believed to have a significant role in the group.

Officials on all sides worry that failure to reach a ceasefire and a long-term political deal in the northeast could destabilize Syria as it seeks to recover from a 13-year civil war that has killed hundreds of thousands, displaced millions and fallen to countries including Russia. Iran and Israel.

Dozens of people have reportedly been killed in northern Syria since December in clashes between the Kurdish-led SDF and Turkish allies and cross-border Turkish airstrikes.

Failure to resolve the fate of Syrian Kurdish factions could derail Turkey’s efforts to end the PKK insurgency.

The United Nations has warned of “dire consequences” for Syria and the region if a political solution is not found in the northeast.

Potential business-office

US support for the SDF has been a source of tension with NATO ally Turkey.

Washington sees the SDF as a key ally in the fight against Islamic State, with Foreign Secretary Anthony Blinken warning it will use this time to rebuild capacity in Syria. The SDF is still holding tens of thousands of prisoners linked to the group.

Erdogan said on Wednesday that Turkey has the power to “crush” all terrorists in Syria, including Islamic State and Kurdish militants.

Turkey wants to run the camps and prisons where Islamic State prisoners are being transferred to Syria’s new regime, and has offered to help them. He also called on the SDF to expel all foreign fighters and senior members of the PKK from the province and to disarm the remaining members.

Abdi, the SDF commander, has shown flexibility on some of Turkey’s demands, telling Reuters last month that the foreign fighters, including members of the PKK, would leave Syria if Turkey agreed to a ceasefire.

The PKK said in a statement to Reuters on Thursday that it would agree to withdraw if the SDF took control of the northeast or had a significant role in the joint leadership.

Omer Onhon, Turkey’s last ambassador to Damascus, told Reuters that such an assurance would not satisfy Ankara at a time when the SDF is “trying to survive and survive” in Syria.

In Ankara on Wednesday, Syrian Foreign Minister Assad Hassan al-Shibani said the large presence of the US-backed SDF was unjustified and the new administration would not allow Syrian soil to become a source of threat to Turkey. His Turkish counterpart Fidan, who stood by his side, said it was time to implement the anti-terrorist pledge.

Abdi told Asharq News that he spoke with Syrian leader Ahmed al-Shara and the two sides agreed to establish a joint military committee to decide how the SDF will integrate with the Ministry of Defense. He described the meeting with Sharaa, who heads the HTS, as positive.

Defense Minister Abu Qasra accused SDF leaders on Sunday of “consolidating all areas under the new administration … it is the right of the Syrian government.”

A ministry official told Reuters that allowing the new leadership to allow SDF fighters to continue working as a group would “risk instability, including a coup”.

Abdi argued that decentralization does not threaten Syria’s unity, and the SDF is not asking for the kind of federalism practiced in Iraq, where the Kurds have their own regional government.

Some Syrian officials and diplomats say the SDF would have to relinquish control of the vast land and oil revenues gained during the war as part of any political settlement.

In return, Kurdish factions could be protected for their language and culture in a decentralized political structure, said Bassam al-Quwatli, president of Syria’s small liberal party, which supports minority rights but was not involved in the talks.

A senior Syrian Kurdish source acknowledged the need for some such trade-offs but did not elaborate.

Mr. Abdi told Ashark News that SDF is open to handing over the responsibility of oil resources to the new administration if the resources are distributed fairly to all regions.

Washington has called for an “orderly transition” of the SDF’s role.

A U.S. diplomat said Assad’s removal would open the door for Washington to eventually consider withdrawing its troops from Syria, although much of that would depend on reliable forces such as their Kurdish allies remaining in the effort to counter any Islamic State resurgence.

Trump’s return to the White House on Monday gave him hope for a better deal on Turkey than he had with Erdogan during his first term in office.

Trump has called Erdogan “a very smart man” in his remarks about his role in Syria and said Turkey “holds the key” to what happens there.

“The Americans will not leave[the SDF],” said Onhon, a former ambassador to Turkey. But the arrival of someone as unpredictable as Trump should worry them too.