Talks Between Damascus and SDF Yield No Progress, Government Says
Damascus declares dialogue with the SDF fruitless without a formal agreement returning oil, borders, and military control to the state, rejecting political decentralization as a threat to sovereignty.
ERBIL (Kurdistan24) — The Syrian government has issued a sweeping critique of ongoing discussions with the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), declaring that any dialogue intended to bridge the divide between Damascus and the Kurdish-led administration will remain "fruitless" unless it yields a binding official agreement with a rigid timeline for implementation.
In a statement released on Friday by Syria’s official news agency, an official source at the Syrian Ministry of Foreign Affairs outlined a strict set of conditions for any future understanding, categorically rejecting the current political and military autonomy exercised by the SDF in the country’s northeast.
The assessment from the Foreign Ministry represents a hardening of Damascus's position, centering on the reassertion of centralized state control over natural resources, administrative governance, and military affairs.
The official source emphasized that the current trajectory of talks has failed to produce substantive results, necessitating a shift toward a formal framework that restores the authority of the central government over all territories currently outside its jurisdiction.
A primary point of contention highlighted in the statement is the management of Syria’s oil wealth, the majority of which is located in territories controlled by the SDF. The Foreign Ministry source directly challenged the credibility of the SDF’s public position regarding these resources.
While the SDF has continuously asserted that the oil reserves are the property of all Syrian people, Damascus contends that such statements are devoid of merit as long as the extraction and revenue remain outside the purview of the state.
The official source indicated that for the SDF’s claims to regain credibility, the management of this wealth must be transferred exclusively to official state institutions.
Furthermore, the Ministry stipulated that all revenue generated from these resources must be deposited directly into the country’s general budget, rather than being utilized to fund autonomous operations in the northeast.
This demand underscores Damascus's refusal to accept any economic arrangement that bypasses the central treasury or allows for independent economic viability for the SDF-held regions.
Beyond economic issues, the Foreign Ministry delivered a harsh rebuke of the political model currently being advanced by the SDF. The statement criticized the proposals for decentralization that have been the subject of recent negotiations.
According to the official source, the perspective currently being presented has deviated significantly from the concept of administrative decentralization—which the state might tolerate—and is instead moving toward "political and security decentralization."
The Ministry warned that such a shift poses a direct threat to Syria’s territorial integrity. The statement described the current governance structure in the northeast as an attempt to consolidate an "imposed entity" within the state’s borders, a characterization that suggests Damascus views the SDF’s administration not as a partner in governance but as an illegitimate anomaly that must be dismantled.
The Foreign Ministry also took aim at the internal governance of the northeast, specifically challenging the SDF’s slogan of "managing the region by its people." The official source asserted that this slogan conceals a reality of political exclusion.
The statement alleged that the region is suffering from "political marginalization" and a "monopoly on decision-making" by the current leadership.
It further claimed that the diverse components of the population in northeastern Syria are not being represented fairly under the current system, countering the SDF’s narrative of inclusive, multi-ethnic democracy.
On the critical issue of military integration and national sovereignty, the government’s stance remains uncompromising. The Ministry stated that no political understanding is compatible with the continued existence of armed forces operating outside the strict framework of the Syrian Army.
The source elaborated that the presence of forces with independent leadership structures and foreign relations—a clear reference to the SDF’s alliance with the United States and other international partners—leads inevitably to "destabilization."
Consequently, Damascus has ruled out any scenario in which the SDF maintains its distinct military command or operational autonomy. The integration demanded by the Ministry implies a full dissolution of the SDF as an independent entity and its subordination to the central military command in Damascus.
Finally, the statement addressed the issue of border control, which remains a key lever of influence for the SDF. The Foreign Ministry condemned the "unilateral control of border crossings" by the SDF, describing the use of these strategic points as a "pressure card" in negotiations.
The source characterized this unilateral administration of borders as a clear violation of the principles of national sovereignty, reinforcing the government’s demand that all international boundaries and crossings be returned to the exclusive control of the state.
The statement concludes by reiterating that without a fundamental shift toward these conditions—centralized resource management, the dismantling of political decentralization, and full military integration—the government views the continuation of dialogue as an exercise in futility.