According to sources, the United States encouraged its Syrian-Kurdish partners to reach an arrangement with the Islamist-led government in Damascus. An agreement that could prevent further confrontation in northern Syria at a time of tension over the fate of U.S. forces deployed there.
The agreement seeks to stitch back together a nation splintered by 14 years of war, paving the path for Kurdish-led forces, which control a quarter of Syria, to join with Damascus, along with regional Kurdish administrations.
General Mazloum Abdi, director of the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), fled to Damascus for signing with interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa aboard a U.S. military aircraft, sources revealed. “The U.S. played a very crucial role,” a senior regional intelligence source stated.
Currently, Sharaa is contending with the fallout of sectarian killings, which were reportedly committed by militants aligned with his government. At the same time, the SDF is locked in a dispute with Turkey-backed Syrian groups who are associated with Damascus.
The US has developed deep connections to Syria’s Kurdish groups since dispatching forces to the nation to fight Islamic State a decade ago, collaborating with Kurdish fighters despite protests from Turkey. The U.S. defense official expressed that General Michael Kurilla, chief of U.S. Central Command, had assisted in pushing the SDF towards the agreement but that the deal was already moving along.
Why is the US pushing the SDF towards an agreement?
The consideration in the U.S. government was that the SDF would be unlikely to maintain its territory in the long term if it confronted pressure from Turkey and the new Syrian administration combined, the U.S. defense official stated. The United States wants to withdraw from Syria without confusion and blowback. The best method of doing that is to secure an agreement among the Syrian factions.
Handing over in a negotiated fashion makes reason for the United States. It’s Washington’s best wager to avoid friction between the Kurdish-led forces and the new administration in Damascus and to thwart a Turkish attack across the border.
The U.S. military refused to comment on all elements of the deal, including any part it may have had in encouraging discussions or whether it supplied transportation to Abdi to reach Damascus.
The agreement did not say how the SDF will be connected with Syria’s armed forces. The SDF has previously stated its forces must work together as a bloc. Damascus desires them to join as individuals. The Syrian government official stated committees would work to address particulars, including the management of borders.
In spite of the fact that it might seem like a win-win now, the actual test will be in its implementation. The deal was smashed at a potentially historic moment for the Kurds, following a call by the imprisoned PKK leader Abdullah Ocalan for his group to demilitarize.
The US wants to make sure the war against Islamic State persists smoothly, with Damascus eventually assuming responsibility for countering it. It also allows unifying the country, which is in the interest of the U.S. since it desires stability and not internal power struggles.
