Damascus has condemned a recent Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) conference as a breach of the March 10 agreement, pulling out of planned negotiations in Paris.
The Syrian government on Saturday denounced a recent conference organised by the Kurdish SDF in northeastern Syria, calling it a “serious blow” to ongoing talks and a “clear violation” of the March 10 agreement.
A government source, quoted by the Syrian Arab News Agency (SANA), said the meeting was “not a unifying national framework” but rather a “fragile coalition” of parties seeking to undermine Syria’s unity and sovereignty.
Damascus accused the attendees of “harbouring separatist agendas, relying on foreign backing, and evading commitments under the peace process”. It said the inclusion of “separatist figures involved in hostile acts” was an attempt to “internationalise the Syrian issue, invite foreign intervention, and reimpose sanctions”.
The government said proposals raised at the conference – including calls for a new “national army nucleus”, amendments to the constitutional declaration, and changes to administrative divisions – directly contradicted provisions of the March 10 deal, which mandates the integration of all civil and military institutions in northeastern Syria into state structures.
Tensions between Damascus and the SDF have escalated in recent days. On August 2, Syria’s Defence Ministry accused the SDF of injuring four soldiers and three civilians in a rocket attack near Manbij, describing the assault as “irresponsible” and saying it had been carried out for “unknown reasons”. The ministry said: “The army forces are working to deal with the sources of fire that targeted the civilian villages near the deployment lines”, later adding that it was conducting “precise strikes”.
The SDF denied targeting civilians, saying it was responding to “an unprovoked artillery assault targeting civilian-populated areas with more than ten shells” by factions within the Syrian government. The group said: “While we reaffirm our commitment to respecting the current de-escalation arrangements, we call on the relevant authorities in the Syrian government to take responsibility and bring the undisciplined factions under control.”
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Two days later, on August 4, the SDF alleged that government-linked factions attacked four of its positions in Aleppo province’s Deir Hafer area at around 3am, with clashes lasting approximately 20 minutes. “We hold the Damascus government fully responsible for this behaviour, and reaffirm that our forces are now more prepared than ever to exercise their legitimate right to respond with full force and determination”, the group said. Damascus blamed the SDF for the incident, repeating its earlier criticism.
Damascus has also accused “extremist Kurdish factions” within the SDF of pursuing “systematic demographic change against Arab Syrians” under instructions from Iraq’s Qandil Mountains, where the PKK operates.
The government stressed that the shape of the Syrian state must be determined “through a permanent constitution approved by popular referendum”, not “through factional understandings or armed coercion”.
Paris talks
As a result of the conference, Damascus confirmed it will not participate in any planned meetings in Paris and will refuse to negotiate with “any party seeking to revive the era of the defunct regime under any name or cover”.
It urged the SDF to “seriously engage” in implementing the March 10 agreement and called on international mediators to “relocate all talks to the Syrian capital”, describing Damascus as “the legitimate and national address for dialogue among Syrians”.
On March 10, the Syrian presidency announced the signing of an agreement for the integration of the SDF into state institutions, reaffirming the country’s territorial unity and rejecting any attempts at division. The SDF is dominated by the YPG, the Syrian branch of the PKK.
Bashar al-Assad, Syria’s tyrannical leader for nearly 25 years, fled to Russia in December, ending the Baath Party’s despotic rule, which had been in power since 1963. A new transitional administration led by the current president Ahmed Al-Sharaa was formed in January.
