US’s Rubio hails Syria deal with Kurds, calls for non-sectarian governance

Top US diplomat endorses agreement to integrate Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces into state institutions.

The United States has welcomed Syria’s agreement to integrate the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) into state institutions.

Washington’s endorsement comes after the Syrian presidency and the US-backed SDF announced a deal granting the Syrian central government full control of a semi-autonomous region that has been administered by the Kurdish-led alliance since 2015.

“The United States reaffirms its support for a political transition that demonstrates credible, non-sectarian governance as the best path to avoid further conflict,” US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said in a statement on Tuesday.

“We will continue to watch the decisions made by the interim authorities, noting with concern the recent deadly violence against minorities.”

On Monday, Syrian interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa and SDF commander Mazloum Abdi said they had struck a deal to merge “all civil and military institutions in northeastern Syria” into the national administration, including an airport and oil and gas fields.

The agreement has been viewed as one of the most significant political developments in the country since the fall of longtime President Bashar al-Assad at the hands of Syrian opposition forces led by al-Sharaa in December.

The accord comes at a critical juncture for Damascus as it grapples with the fallout of a wave of violence that erupted last week in the heartland of the Alawite minority.

The deal includes a ceasefire in all of Syria, SDF support in combating pro-Assad fighters, and an affirmation that the Kurdish people are integral to Syria and have a right to citizenship and guaranteed constitutional rights.

While discussions about integrating the SDF into the Syrian state had been ongoing since the fall of al-Assad, efforts to reach an agreement were hampered by perceptions that the group was less committed to opposing the deposed regime than other opposition forces.

The US partnered with the SDF in its fight against the ISIL (ISIS) armed group, whose so-called caliphate in Syria was overthrown in 2019.

Washington’s support for the SDF has placed a strain on its relations with Turkiye, which views the group as an extension of the Kurdish nationalist Kurdistan Workers’ Party, which Ankara considers a “terrorist” organisation.

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Al Jazeera and news agencies