Mazloum Abdi reveals negotiations with the Syrian regime: Handover of institutions starts from Deir ez-Zor

The Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) held an extensive meeting on Saturday at the American base in Al-Shaddadi city, south of Al-Hasakah, bringing together prominent military and civilian leaders, along with representatives of tribes and cultural figures from Deir ez-Zor province.

"Syria TV website" quoted private sources saying that the meeting was organized in two phases: the first was dedicated to the western line delegation, and the second to the eastern line delegation. The meeting was chaired by the SDF's General Commander Mazloum Abdi, in the presence of key figures from the self-administration, including Fawza al-Yusuf, Hassan Zohat, and Yasser Abbas al-Sulaiman.

Discussions focused on the situation in Deir ez-Zor province, which has been under SDF control for years, amidst escalating political and security complexities. Mazloum Abdi emphasized that "the SDF does not intend to hand over its areas or dissolve the self-administration," indicating that any rapprochement with the Syrian government would be conditional on "maintaining the structure of self-administration and integrating forces within agreed arrangements."

Abdi revealed that the SDF intends to start a series of meetings with the Syrian government in the coming days to hand over state institutions, including the military, starting from Deir ez-Zor, followed by Raqqa and Al-Hasakah. This step marks a shift in the SDF's policy towards Damascus, especially after signing an agreement with Syrian President Ahmed al-Shar'a, which may rearrange the relationship between the two parties in the areas east of the Euphrates River.

The meeting comes at a time when areas under SDF control, especially Deir ez-Zor, are witnessing popular protests and sharp criticisms of the security and service performance of the self-administration, with repeated demands for the region's residents to participate in political and military decisions.

In a related context, Kurdish sources informed of the postponement of a meeting between the self-administration delegation and Syrian officials in Paris, at the request of the "International Coalition." A Kurdish source involved in the preparations explained that the postponement was due to "developments in Suwayda and the deteriorating security situation in southern Syria," in addition to "the weak performance of the Syrian government," as he put it.

The urgent meeting in Paris was arranged following the Amman meeting on July 19, attended by US envoy Tom Barak, Syrian Foreign Minister Asaad al-Sha'ban, and SDF Commander Mazloum Abdi.