Syria blames US-backed Kurds for instability after failed meeting

Gaps widen between President Ahmad Al Shara and his secular Kurdish foes despite American efforts

Syria's Interim President Ahmed Al Shara, left, receives US Ambassador to Turkey and Special Envoy for Syria, Thomas Barrack, in Damascus. EPA

The Syrian government has accused the Kurdish-led and US-backed militia of delays in implementing a March deal to integrate into the country's armed forces, warning that the inaction would undermine newly-found stability.

The mostly Kurdish, secular militia, called the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), has emerged as the most powerful rival to Hayat Tahrir Al Sham (HTS), a splinter group from Al Qaeda led by Mr Al Shara. HTS has taken central power since the ousting of former president Bashar Al Assad in December.

The accusation came after a failed meeting on Wednesday between the two sides during a visit to Damascus by Thomas Barrack, the American envoy to Syria. Mr Barrack is a key figure in the normalisation that started in May between Washington and the post-Assad order in Syria.

An official in the SDF said that while its leader, Mazloum Abdi, left Damascus on Wednesday without meeting Mr Al Shara, he did meet Mr Barrack together with senior Syrian officials, including Interior Minister Anas Al Khattab, one of Mr Al Shara's closest subordinates. That meeting "was tense and did not go well", the official said, without elaborating.

Asked about the Syrian government reaction, the official said that Damascus, egged on by Turkey, "is escalating and trying to show the Kurds as the problematic partner".

An official Syrian statement thanked Washington for its efforts to implement the March 10 agreement. It recognised that although SDF faces "challenges", delaying the deal "will complicate the scene, and hinder the efforts to bring back security and stability."

The SDF has warded off encroachment by HTS and its militia allies, who are backed by Turkey, on its strongholds in eastern Syria, and repeatedly demanded federalism to solve the country's fragmentation.

The central authorities "insist on one army, one government" and refuse any form of federalism, because it "contrasts with Syrian sovereignty and territorial unity," the statement said.

For reasons that still remain unclear, a meeting failed to take place as scheduled on Wednesday between Mr Al Shara and SDF chief Mazloum Abdi, to solve differences that has prevented implementing the March 10 deal.

The US-and Turkish-brokered agreement stipulated in general terms bringing the SDF military and administrative units into the new Syrian state, without setting a timetable.

Syrian media reported that a Turkish security delegation had arrived in Damascus on the same day Mr Al Shara was due to meet Abdi.

Security threat

Turkey regards the SDF as a national security threat, partly because it has links to the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK), a group that has been waging a decades-long insurgency against the Turkish state, and received support from the former regime in Syria during the time of its inception.

The Syrian government has accused the Kurdish-led and US-backed militia of delays in implementing a March deal to integrate into the country's armed forces.

The SDF also collaborated with the Syrian regime on several occasions during the 13-year civil war.

The SDF, unlike the PKK, which in recent months has taken steps to disband, refuses to dissolve itself. It has agreed to join the new Syrian army as long as it retains its Kurdish commanders, Kurdish sources said.

However, Mr Barrak appeared to blame the SDF for a lack of progress on solving the Kurdish issue in Syria, saying that the new Damascus authorities have “done a great job” by giving the SDF an option that the group should "quickly" consider.

Mr Barrack was also quoted by local Syrian media as saying that federalism is not a viable solution in Syria, and that the SDF has been a "slow" party in the negotiations.

The United States set up the SDF in 2015 as the main ground component in the American-led war on ISIS in Syria. Last month, the Pentagon allocated $130 million for the anti-ISIS militias in Syria, mainly the SDF. The forces have played a pivotal role in the fight against ISIS in the country and are currently in charge of overseeing the camps and prisons hosting remnant fighters.