Syria govt, SDF reach comprehensive agreement

Syria's government and SDF reached a comprehensive deal on Friday to gradually integrate the Kurds' military and civilian institutions into the state, a step Washington described as a "historic milestone".

In recent weeks, the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) have ceded vast areas of Arab-majority land to government forces.

It was territory they held for years, having seized it in fierce battles against the Daesh terrorist group during a campaign backed by a US-led coalition.

The new deal, the text of which was released by both sides, "seeks to unify Syrian territory and achieve the full integration" of the Kurdish-majority region.

It maintains an ongoing ceasefire and introduces a "gradual integration" of the Kurdish forces and administrative institutions.

The anti-IS campaign made the SDF a key partner of Washington, but since the toppling of longtime ruler Bashar al-Assad in late 2024, the United States has drawn close to the new authorities in Damascus.

The US has recently declared the need for its Kurdish alliance largely over, and has sought to mediate talks between the government and the Kurds.

The new agreement, announced by both the SDF and Syrian state television, follows an understanding reached earlier this month on the future of the majority-Kurdish areas of Hasakeh province and the town of Kobane.

It appears to include at least some of the Kurds' demands, like the establishment of brigades of SDF fighters in Kurdish-majority areas.

Damascus had previously rejected the idea of ethnically based military units.

In a video conference Friday, Kurdish politician and key negotiator Elham Ahmad said the new deal enforces a "permanent ceasefire".

She added that the US and France were the guarantors of the deal, but talks were ongoing over the details of the integration process.

Raman Sido, a resident of the Kurdish city of Qamishli, said the deal's main benefit was that it would "defuse the Kurdish-Arab tension and eliminate the looming spectre of conflict".

But he warned that it still lacked clarity on implementation and the system of administration.