According to the Syrian presidential candidate, the Kurds and the US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), which control much of Syrian oil-rich northeast, signed a contract with the Damascus government on March 10 to join Syria’s new national institutions.
The photo shows Syrian interim president Ahmed al-Sharaa and SDF commander Mazroom Abdi shaking hands in Damascus.
The agreement came at a significant moment when he said on March 10 that he threatened efforts to unite Syria after a 14-year conflict as Sharaa tackled fallout from the mass murder of members of the Alawian minority in western Syria.
In December 2024, rebels overthrew the government of former Syrian president Bashar al-Assad.
The contract, signed on March 10, calls for calls to make SDF-controlled border crossings, airports and oil and gas fields in eastern Syria part of the Damascus regime.
In his first official comment after signing the agreement, Abdi said in a post on X that the deal represents “a real opportunity to build a new Syria.”
He said the SDF is working with the Syrian regime at “a critical time like this” to ensure a transitional phase that reflects the Syrian people’s aspirations for justice and stability.
The implementation is expected to be paid by the end of 2025, but the agreement does not specify how the SDF military operations will be integrated into Syrian Ministry of Defence.