Exclusive-Syria, Kurdish Forces Race to Save Integration Deal Ahead of Deadline

Syria and Kurdish Forces Race to Finalize Integration Deal

By Suleiman Al-Khalidi, Timour ‌Azhari, Maya Gebeily and Jonathan Spicer

AMMAN/RIYADH/BEIRUT/ANKARA, Dec 18 (Reuters) - Syrian, Kurdish and U.S. officials are scrambling ahead of a year-end deadline to show some progress in a stalled deal to ‍merge Kurdish ‌forces with the Syrian state, according to several people involved in or familiar with the talks.

Discussions have accelerated in recent days despite growing frustrations over delays, according to the Syrian, Kurdish ⁠and Western sources who spoke to Reuters, some of whom cautioned that a major breakthrough was ‌unlikely. 

The interim Syrian government has sent a proposal to the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) that controls the country's northeast, according to five of the sources. 

In it, Damascus expressed openness to the SDF reorganising its roughly 50,000 fighters into three main divisions and smaller brigades as long as it cedes some chains of command and opens its territory to other Syrian army units, according to one Syrian, one Western and three Kurdish officials. 

'SAVE FACE' AND EXTEND ⁠TALKS ON INTEGRATION

It was unclear whether the idea would move forward, and several sources downplayed prospects of a comprehensive eleventh-hour deal, saying more talks are needed. Still, one SDF official said: "We are closer to a deal than ever before".

A second Western ​official said that any announcement in coming days would be meant in part to "save face", extend the deadline and ‌maintain stability in a nation that remains fragile a year after the fall of former ⁠President Bashar al-Assad.

Whatever emerges was expected to fall short of the SDF's full integration into the military and other state institutions by year-end, as was called for in a landmark March 10 agreement between the sides, most of the sources said. 

Failure to mend Syria's deepest remaining fracture risks an armed clash that could derail its emergence from 14 years of war, and ​potentially draw in neighbouring Turkey that has threatened an incursion against Kurdish fighters it views as terrorists. 

Both sides have accused the other of stalling and acting in bad faith. The SDF is reluctant to give up autonomy it won as the main U.S. ally during the war, after which it controlled Islamic State prisons and rich oil resources. 

The U.S., which backs Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa and has urged global support for his interim government, has relayed messages between the SDF and Damascus, facilitated talks and urged a deal, several sources said.

A U.S. State Department spokesperson said Tom ​Barrack, the U.S. ‍ambassador to Turkey and special envoy to Syria, continued to ​support and facilitate dialogue between the Syrian government and the SDF, saying the aim was to maintain momentum towards integration of the forces.

SDF DOWNPLAYS DEADLINE; TURKEY SAYS PATIENCE THIN

Since a major round of talks in the summer between the sides failed to produce results, frictions have mounted including frequent skirmishes along several front lines across the north.

The SDF took control of much of northeast Syria, where most of the nation's oil and wheat production is, after defeating Islamic State militants in 2019.

It said it was ending decades of repression against the Kurdish minority but resentment against its rule has grown among the predominantly Arab population, including against compulsory conscription of young men.

A Syrian official said the year-end deadline for integration is firm and only "irreversible steps" by the SDF could bring an extension. 

Turkey's foreign minister, Hakan ⁠Fidan, said on Thursday it does not want to resort to military means but warned that patience with the SDF is "running out". 

Kurdish officials have downplayed the deadline and said they are committed to talks toward a just integration. 

"The most reliable guarantee for the agreement's continued validity lies in ​its content, not timeframe," said Sihanouk Dibo, a Syrian autonomous administration official, suggesting it could take until mid-2026 to address all points in the deal. 

The SDF had in October floated the idea of reorganising into three geographical divisions as well as the brigades. It is unclear whether that concession, in the proposal from Damascus in recent days, would be enough to convince it to give up territorial control. 

Abdel Karim Omar, representative of the Kurdish-led northeastern administration in Damascus, said the proposal, which has not been made public, ‌included "logistical and administrative details that could cause disagreement and lead to delays".

A senior Syrian official told Reuters the response "has flexibility to facilitate reaching an agreement that implements the March accord".

(Reporting by Suleiman Al-Khalidi in Amman, Timour Azhari in Riyadh, Maya Gebeily in Beirut, Jonathan Spicer in Ankara, Additional reporting by Orhan Quereman in Syria and Tuvan Gumrukcu in Ankara; Writing by Jonathan Spicer; Editing by Andrew Cawthorne)