Historic Achievement for the New Syrian Regime? Kurds Agree to Integrate into the State

The Syrian government in Damascus announced that it has reached a comprehensive agreement with the Kurdish authorities of northern Syria led by the SDF. The agreement integrates the Kurds into the new government and guarantees them full constitutional and social rights, as well as protection as a minority group.

The Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), Kurdish-led and American-supported, which control most of the oil-rich northeastern regions of Syria, signed an agreement to integrate into the new Syrian state institutions, as announced by the Syrian presidency this evening (Monday).

The agreement, which includes a complete ceasefire, was signed between Syria's interim president, Ahmad al-Sharaa, and SDF commander Mazloum Abdi.

According to the agreement, whose full text was published on the president's website, all civil and military institutions in northeastern Syria will be integrated into the state, which will take control of borders, airports, and oil and gas fields.

The SDF agreed to support the government in the fight against remnants of the ousted president Bashar al-Assad's regime, and against any threat to Syria's security and unity.

Since Assad's overthrow by al-Sharaa's Islamist forces last December, groups supported by Turkey, one of al-Sharaa's main backers, have clashed with the SDF, the main ally in the American coalition against ISIS fighters in Syria.

The SDF is led by the YPG militia, a group that Ankara views as an extension of the terrorist militants from the PKK (Kurdistan Workers' Party) who have been fighting the Turkish state for 40 years.

The agreement represents a significant victory for the new regime in Syria in its attempt to establish control throughout the country and signals a possible shift in the balance of power in the complex region. It comes at a welcome time for President Ahmad al-Sharaa, who has faced much criticism in recent days and dealt with a loss of legitimacy following the massacre of Alawites in the western part of the country.