Negotiators reach agreement on potential deal to rid Syria of last battlefield By Reuters

By Jonathan Spicer, Tuvan Gumrukcu and Maya Gebeily

ISTANBUL/DAMASCUS (Reuters) – Negotiators are reaching a deal that could resolve one of the most burning questions about Syria’s future: the fate of Kurdish forces the US considers a key ally against the Islamic State but neighboring Turkey sees as national security. a threat.

Diplomatic and military talks from the United States, Turkey, Syria and the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) show more flexibility and patience than their public statements suggest, a dozen sources told Reuters, including five directly involved in the web. discussions in previous weeks.

This could set the stage for an agreement in the coming months that will see some Kurds leave northeastern Syria and others brought under the authority of the new defense ministry, six sources said.

However, there are many problems that still need to be solved, they said. This includes how to integrate the SDF’s well-armed and well-trained fighters into the Syrian security framework and manage the area under their control, including important oil and wheat fields.

In an interview with Saudi Arabia’s Asharq News channel on Tuesday, SDF commander Mazloum Abdi said the coalition’s “fundamental need” is for self-governance — a challenge that could pose a challenge to Syria’s new leadership, which wants to bring the entire country back under the authority of the government that was ousted last month by Bashar al-Assad. .

Abdi stated that the SDF has no intention of disbanding, saying that it is open to communicating with the Ministry of Defense and working according to its rules, but “as a military group”.

Syria’s new defense minister, Murhaf Abu Qasra, rejected that in an interview with Reuters on Sunday, saying the suggestion that the SDF remain a single coalition is “wrong.”

The former rebels who are now in power in Damascus say they want all armed groups to join the Syrian army, under a unified command. The SDF, when asked for comment, referred Reuters to an interview with its commander.

How much autonomy Kurdish groups end up with depends on whether incoming US president Donald Trump continues to get Washington’s long-term support from its Kurdish allies, according to politicians and officials on both sides.

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

Any deal also depends on whether Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan stops a threatening military offensive against the People’s Protection Units (YPG), the Kurdish militia that leads the SDF coalition.

Ankara views 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 group by Turkey and the US.

Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan said this month that the new Syrian authorities “must be given a chance … to end the operations and the fear created by the YPG”, but did not say how long Ankara would wait before disarming before launching an offensive. .

A source in the Turkish Foreign Ministry said that freeing armed groups and the departure of “foreign terrorists” is important for stability and maintaining the territorial integrity of Syria, so the sooner this happens the better.

“We express our expectations with strong words when we communicate with the United States and the new administration in Damascus,” said the source.

MOURNING SPEECHES

US and Turkish officials have been holding “extremely difficult” talks since rebels led by Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), a former al Qaeda affiliate, launched a blitzkrieg from their stronghold in the northwest and ousted Assad on December 8. -United States. a political official told Reuters.

The two countries have a “common view of where things should end”, including the belief that all foreign fighters should leave Syrian territory, the spokesman said, noting that the Turkish talks “have a very high sense of urgency” to fix things.

However, the spokesman, like other sources who asked not to be identified to discuss the sensitive negotiations, said the negotiations were “very complex” and would take time.

Similar talks are taking place between the US and the SDF and HTS, Turkey and HTS, and the SDF and HTS, officials from all sides said.

Part of a stateless bloc that spans Iraq, Iran, Turkey, Armenia and Syria, the Kurds have been among the few victors in the Syrian conflict, controlling mostly Arab areas as the US partners with them in the fight against Islamic State. They now control almost a quarter of the country.

But Assad’s fall has left Syrian Kurdish groups trailing behind, Turkish-backed armed groups gaining power in the northeast and the country’s new rulers in Damascus friendly with Ankara.

Turkey, which provided direct support to some rebel groups against Assad, has emerged as one of Syria’s most influential power brokers since his fall. Like the US, it has designated HTS as a terrorist group because of its al Qaeda past, but Ankara is believed to have greater influence over the group.

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

Dozens of people in northern Syria have been reported killed since December in clashes between the Kurdish-led SDF and its allies in Turkey, and in Turkish air strikes across the border.

Failure to resolve the fate of Kurdish groups in Syria could derail nascent efforts to end the PKK insurgency in Turkey.

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

POSSIBLE TRADE

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

Washington views the SDF as a key partner in the fight against the Islamic State, with Secretary of State Antony Blinken warning that he will try to use this time to renew capabilities in Syria. The SDF is still guarding tens of thousands of prisoners linked to the group.

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

Turkey wants the management of the camps and prisons where the prisoners of the Islamic State are kept to be transferred to the new rulers of Syria and has promised to help them. It also demanded that the SDF expel all foreign fighters and senior PKK members from its territory and disarm the remaining members as far as it could verify.

Abdi, the SDF commander, has shown flexibility regarding Turkey’s demands, telling Reuters last month that foreign troops, including members of the PKK, would leave Syria if Turkey agreed to end the war.

The PKK said in a statement sent to Reuters on Thursday that it would agree to leave if the SDF continued to control the northeast or play a key role in the coalition’s leadership.

Such assurances are unlikely to satisfy Ankara at a time when the SDF is “trying to stay alive and independent” in Syria, Omer Onhon, Turkey’s last ambassador in Damascus, told Reuters.

In Ankara on Wednesday, Syrian Foreign Minister Asaad Hassan al-Shibani said the presence of the US-backed SDF is no longer necessary, and the new administration will not allow the Syrian state to become a source of threats to Turkey. Standing next to him, his Turkish counterpart, Fidan, said it was time to make promises against terrorism.

Abdi told Asharq News that he has met with the Syrian leader, Ahmed al-Sharaa, and the two sides agreed to establish a joint military committee to decide how the SDF will meet with the defense ministry. He described the meeting with Sharaa, who heads HTS, as positive.

Abu Qasra, the defense minister, accused SDF leaders on Sunday of “holding back” on the issue, saying “the integration of all areas under the new administration … is the right of the Syrian regime.”

The new leadership believes that allowing SDF fighters to continue operating as a group “will risk a deterioration of the situation, including a coup,” a ministry official told Reuters.

Abdi argued that an independent administration would not threaten Syria’s unity, saying the SDF does not want the kind of organization introduced in Iraq, where the Kurds have their own regional government.

Some Syrian officials and diplomats say the SDF will likely need to relinquish control of important territory and oil revenues, gained during the war, as part of any political settlement.

In return, Kurdish groups may be given protection for their language and culture within a shared political structure, said Bassam al-Kuwatli, president of the minority Syrian Liberal Party, which supports minority rights but is not involved in the negotiations.

A senior Kurdish source in Syria acknowledged that some such exchanges would be necessary but did not elaborate.

Abdi told Asharq News that the SDF is open to giving new management responsibility for oil resources, as long as the wealth is distributed fairly among all provinces.

Washington has called for a “managed transition” of the SDF’s role.

The U.S. official said Assad’s ouster opens the door for Washington to finally consider withdrawing its troops from Syria, although much depends on whether loyalist forces such as his Kurdish allies continue efforts to fight any Islamic State outbreak.

Trump’s return to the White House on Monday raised hopes in Turkey for a good deal, given the relationship he established with Erdogan during his first term.

Trump spoke favorably of Erdogan’s role in Syria, calling him a “very smart guy”, and said that Turkey will “hold the key” to what happens there.

“The American people will not abandon (the SDF),” said Onhon, a former ambassador to Turkey. “But the arrival of an unexpected person like Trump must also worry them.”