US steered Syrian Kurds towards Damascus deal, sources say

By Timour Azhari, Phil Stewart, Jonathan Spicer and Suleiman Al-Khalidi

DAMASCUS (Reuters) -The United States encouraged its Syrian Kurdish allies to reach Monday's landmark deal with the Islamist-led government in Damascus, six sources said, an agreement that could stave off further conflict in northern Syria at a time of uncertainty over the future of U.S. forces deployed there.

The deal aims to stitch back together a country fractured by 14 years of war, paving the way for Kurdish-led forces which hold a quarter of Syria to merge with Damascus, along with regional Kurdish governing bodies. Key details of how this will happen have yet to be spelt out, however.

General Mazloum Abdi, head of the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), was flown to Damascus for Monday's signing with interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa aboard a U.S. military aircraft, three sources said.

Three other sources - U.S. officials - said the United States had encouraged the SDF to move towards an agreement to resolve its status in the new Syria - the focus of multi-track talks which began after Bashar al-Assad was toppled in December and which Reuters reported on in January.

"The U.S. played a very crucial role," a senior regional intelligence source said.

The deal came at a moment of pressure on both sides.

Sharaa is grappling with the fallout of sectarian killings which were reportedly carried out by militants aligned with his government, while the SDF is locked in conflict with Turkey-backed Syrian groups who are allied to Damascus.

Four sources, including one close to the Syrian government, said the sectarian violence had nudged along the agreement.

The intelligence source and a Damascus-based diplomat expected the deal to ease Turkish military pressure on the SDF, deemed by Ankara as an extension of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK). Turkey has welcomed the agreement.

A Syrian government official said the presidency would work to address pending issues between the SDF and Turkey.

DEEP TIES

Washington has developed deep ties to Syria's Kurdish groups since deploying forces to the country to fight Islamic State a decade ago, partnering with Kurdish fighters despite objections from Turkey.

The U.S. troop deployment has come into renewed focus since President Donald Trump returned to power.

Ahead of any policy decisions on Syria, the Pentagon has started developing plans for a potential withdrawal, should one be ordered, U.S. officials tell Reuters.

Still, a U.S. defense official told Reuters on Tuesday there was no sign that a pullout was imminent.

The U.S. defense official said General Michael Kurilla, commander of U.S. Central Command, had helped pushed the SDF towards the deal but that the agreement was already moving along.

The thinking in the U.S. administration was that the SDF would be unlikely to hold onto its territory in the long-term if it faced pressure from Turkey and the new Syrian government combined, the U.S. defense official said.

"The United States is looking for ways to withdraw from Syria without chaos and blowback. The best way of doing that is to secure a deal among the Syrian factions," said Aron Lund of Century International, a U.S.-based think tank.

"A negotiated handover makes sense for the United States. It's Washington's best bet, to avoid conflict between the Kurdish-led forces and the new government in Damascus, and to prevent a Turkish attack across the border," he said.

DEVIL IN THE DETAIL

The U.S. military declined comment on all aspects of the deal, including any role it may have had in encouraging talks or whether it provided transportation to Abdi to reach Damascus.

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said on Tuesday that Washington welcomed the agreement.

Erdem Ozan, a former Turkish diplomat and expert on Syria, said the agreement benefited both sides. "Sharaa gains political breathing room after recent unrest in the coastal area, and the SDF avoids a direct clash with Turkey at a time when U.S. policy on Syria remains uncertain," he said.

The deal did not say how the SDF will be merged with Syria's armed forces. The SDF has previously said its forces must join as a bloc. Damascus wants them to join as individuals.

The Syrian government official said committees would work to address details, including the control of borders.

"While it might seem like a win-win now, the real test will be in its execution," Ozan said.

An SDF spokesperson did not immediately respond to questions. Abdi has called the deal a "real opportunity to build a new Syria."

The deal was struck at a potentially historic moment for the Kurds, following a call by the jailed PKK leader Abdullah Ocalan for his group to disarm. Though heavily influenced by Ocalan, the SDF has said this does not apply to it.

Aaron Zelin, a senior fellow at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy, said Washington wants to ensure the fight against Islamic State continues smoothly, with Damascus eventually taking up responsibilities for countering it.

"It also helps unify the country which is in the interest of the U.S. since it wants stability and not internal power fights," he said.

(Additional reporting by Maya Gebeily in Damascus, Tom Perry in Beirut, Idrees Ali and Humeyra Pamuk in Washington; Writing by Tom Perry; Editing by Angus MacSwan)