Syria’s information minister says integration deal with YPG to take effect Monday

By Mohammad Sio

ISTANBUL (AA) - Syria’s information minister said Friday that a ceasefire and integration agreement with the YPG/SDF terror organization will take effect Monday, describing the deal as a step toward consolidating state authority and easing tensions in the northeast.

Speaking in an interview with the privately owned Syria TV, Hamza al-Mustafa said Damascus sought to take a “positive step” with the agreement, and the situation in Syria after regaining control of Deir el-Zour and Raqqa is “not what it was before.”

He said the latest agreement concerning the cities of Hasakah and Qamishli and the integration of military forces builds on a previous accord reached Jan. 18, describing the new deal as defining the practical mechanisms for implementation.

On Jan. 18, the government and the SDF terror group concluded a far-reaching agreement aimed at ending military confrontation in northeastern Syria and restoring full state authority over key regions east of the Euphrates River.

The then-agreement lays out a framework combining an immediate ceasefire with administrative, military and institutional reintegration of the SDF under Damascus’ authority.

Under the new agreement, al-Mustafa said, SDF members will be integrated “individually” into military brigades that will fall under the Defense Ministry. He said the agreement’s implementation will start Monday, and the newly appointed security director for Hasakah will assume his duties the same day.

Al-Mustafa said the government will also take control of the Rmeilan and al-Suwaydiyah oilfields, as well as the Qamishli airport, within 10 days.

He said that the SDF attempted to present itself as the sole representative of Syrian Kurds and of politicizing the issue.

The government recently met Kurdish delegations from different political currents, including the Kurdish National Council, to discuss issues affecting the Kurdish community, he said.

The minister said the government believes there is now an opportunity to implement the agreement in a way that benefits all sides, and Syria’s unity “is no longer at risk as it once was.”

Earlier Friday, the government said it had reached a “comprehensive agreement” with the SDF that would end internal division and lay the groundwork for full integration.

The agreement outlines a ceasefire between government forces and SDF elements, along with the phased integration of their military and administrative bodies.

As part of the deal, the sides agreed on “the withdrawal of military forces from contact lines and the deployment of security forces affiliated with the Syrian Interior Ministry into the city centers of Hasakah and Qamishli, with the aim of reinforcing stability.”

On Jan. 16, President Ahmad al-Sharaa issued a decree affirming that Syrian Kurds are an integral part of the Syrian people and their cultural and linguistic identity forms a core component of Syria’s unified national identity.

The Syrian Army launched an operation against the SDF on Jan. 16 in areas west of the Euphrates River. The operation later expanded east of the river with the participation of tribal forces, leading to most of the territories previously occupied by the group coming under government control.