Syrian Kurds demonstrate in support of the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) in the northeastern Syrian town of Qamishli. (Credit: Delil Souleiman/AFP via Getty Images)
The Syrian Kurds, who will soon resume their negotiations with the central government in Damascus, will demand a decentralized governance system in the new Syria, a senior Kurdish official said Monday to AFP.
Islamist authorities signed an agreement on March 10 with the Kurds to integrate Kurdish administration institutions into the Syrian state, which controls vast territories in the north and northeast of the country, including the country's main oil and gas fields.
The two parties are expected to soon hold meetings in Damascus, dedicated to the implementation of this agreement, according to the official who requested anonymity.
The Kurdish delegation will insist on a "decentralized, pluralistic and democratic Syria," explained the official. "This position will be one of the main topics of discussion and is non-negotiable."
"The mosaic of Syrian society cannot be managed by a political system that monopolizes all powers and does not recognize the specificity of regions and components," he added.
The Kurds had rejected the constitutional declaration adopted by Damascus on March 13, which grants full powers to interim president Ahmad al-Sharaa, and considered that the new government did not reflect Syrian diversity.
On May 12, Syrian Foreign Minister Assaad al-Chaibani warned that "the unity of Syrian territory is non-negotiable."
He added that any "procrastination" in executing the agreement with the Kurds could "prolong chaos" in the country, after 14 years of civil war.
Supported by Washington, the powerful Syrian Democratic Forces, the armed wing of the Kurdish administration, played a key role in the fight against the jihadist group Islamic State, defeated in 2019.
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