Syrian President Ahmad Shara met with US envoy Tom Barrack on Sunday and said he insists on Damascus’ sovereignty over the country’s entire territory, the statement said. At the same time, Shara announced a cease-fire agreement with the commander of the Kurdish Democratic Forces (SDF), Mazloum Abdi. TASR informs about it based on the AFP report.
Shara “confirmed the unity and sovereignty of Syria over its entire territory, the importance of dialogue in the current phase and the reconstruction of Syria with the participation of all Syrians,” according to a statement from his office, with the addition that Foreign Minister Asad al-Shaibani also took part in the meeting.
Negotiations in Irbil
US Ambassador Barrack also met with Abdí the day before in the city of Irbil, according to a statement from the office of the president of the Iraqi autonomous region of Kurdistan.
On Sunday, Shara also spoke on the phone with French President Emmanuel Macron, who called for a permanent ceasefire in Syria after the escalation of fighting between Damascus troops and Kurdish forces.
On Sunday, according to AFP, Shara simultaneously announced an agreement with Abdi, which includes a ceasefire. The agreement came after government forces advanced into Kurdish areas in the north and east of the country. “I recommend a complete ceasefire,” Šara told reporters after meeting with Barrack, adding that the meeting with Abdi was postponed until Monday due to bad weather, but that “to calm the situation, we decided to sign the agreement.”
Content of the 14-point agreement
The presidential office in Damascus released the text of the signed 14-point agreement, which includes the integration of the SDF and Kurdish security forces into the defense and interior ministries, the immediate handover of the Kurdish provinces of Deir ez-Zour and Raqqa to the government, and Damascus’ assumption of responsibility for Islamic State prisoners and their families held in Kurdish prisons and camps.
The Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) on Saturday accused Damascus of betrayal over a deal to withdraw troops from an area east of Aleppo city and reported fighting between the two sides in northern Syria.
Oil and the strengthening of control
The SDF controls oil-rich areas in the north and northeast of Syria, a large part of which they captured during the civil war and the fight against the Islamic State (IS) jihadist organization, AFP recalls.
The Islamist-led authorities in Damascus are seeking to expand their control over all of Syria after toppling former longtime Syrian President Bashar al-Assad just over a year ago.
The two sides signed an agreement in March last year to incorporate the semi-autonomous Syrian Kurdish Administration and its forces into the new government, but its implementation has largely stalled.
