A deal meant to reshape Syria’s military landscape is showing signs of strain, as talks between the Syrian government and the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) have failed to make meaningful progress.
Officials in Damascus recently met with Mazloum Abdi, also known as Mazloum Kobani, the commander of the US-backed SDF, to discuss plans to integrate the force into the national army. However, Syrian state media reported that the discussions ended without any “tangible results”, underscoring the growing difficulties surrounding the agreement.
The SDF confirmed on Sunday that a delegation led by Abdi travelled to Damascus for talks focused on the military integration process. The meeting follows a deal signed in March under President Ahmed al-Sharaa, which stipulated that the SDF would be merged into Syria’s state institutions by the end of 2025.
Disagreements Over Structure and Control
At the heart of the impasse is a fundamental disagreement over how the merger would work in practice. The SDF, which has tens of thousands of fighters, wants to remain a cohesive unit within the Syrian army. Damascus, however, is believed to favour dissolving the force and absorbing its fighters individually.
The SDF is the largest armed group yet to be incorporated into Syria’s military and currently controls large parts of the country’s oil-rich north and northeast. Under the March agreement, border crossings with Iraq and Turkiye, as well as airports and oil fields in the region, would come under the central government’s control.
The deal also covers prisons holding around 9,000 suspected members of the ISIL (ISIS) group, which are expected to be transferred to government authority.
Despite the lack of progress, state television reported that both sides agreed to hold further meetings at a later date.
Regional Pressure and Rising Tensions
The stalled talks come amid mounting regional pressure. Turkiye considers the SDF a “terrorist” organisation due to its links to the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), which has fought a decades-long armed conflict against the Turkish state. Although a peace process is now under way, Ankara continues to view Kurdish forces along its border as a security threat.
While Turkiye has publicly called for the SDF to be integrated into Syria’s state structures, it has insisted this should not happen with the group remaining intact as a single unit.
Meanwhile, the SDF continues to push for a decentralised system of governance that would allow it to retain influence over the territories it controls, a position firmly opposed by the government in Damascus. These opposing visions have occasionally sparked violence.
In late December, clashes erupted in the northern city of Aleppo between Syrian security forces and SDF fighters during a visit by Turkiye’s Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan. Last month, Fidan warned the SDF not to stand in the way of Syria’s stability, signalling that patience with the group was wearing thin.
For now, the promised military merger remains unresolved, agreed in principle, but stuck in practice.
