A senior Syrian government official reaffirmed on Saturday the right of citizens to peaceful assembly and constructive dialogue within the framework of a unified national project that upholds Syria’s territorial integrity, sovereignty, and the unity of its people. 

Speaking to the Syrian Arab News Agency (SANA) in response to the recent conference organized by the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) in al-Hasakah, the official said religious and ethnic groups have the full right to express their political visions and establish parties within legal frameworks. However, such activity must remain peaceful, refrain from taking up arms against the state, and avoid imposing a unilateral vision for the structure of the Syrian state, according to the official.

They stressed that the form of the state cannot be decided through factional understandings or local agreements, but only through a permanent constitution ratified by popular referendum, ensuring equal participation for all Syrians. Any political proposal, he added, must be addressed through public dialogue and the ballot box, not through threats or armed force.

The official said what took place in northeastern Syria does not represent a unifying national framework, but rather a fragile coalition of actors “harmed by the Syrian people’s victory and the fall of the old regime,” reliant on foreign support. Such groups, he argued, use conferences like this to evade future national commitments while ignoring “state constants based on one army, one government, and one country.”

Damascus condemned the hosting of separatist figures and individuals involved in hostile acts at the conference, calling it a flagrant violation of the March 10 agreement. The government held the SDF and its leadership fully responsible for the legal, political, and historical consequences of this breach, describing the gathering as an attempt to internationalize Syrian affairs and reimpose foreign sanctions.

Provisions contradicting March 10 agreement

According to the official, the conference’s proposals, including calls to form a “nucleus of a new national army” and revise the constitutional declaration, directly contradict several provisions of the March 10 agreement. That deal stipulated the integration of all civil and military institutions in northeastern Syria into state structures, and guaranteed rights based on merit rather than affiliation.

He further stressed that the event undermined commitments the government has already begun implementing, such as the establishment of a Transitional Justice Commission and the national dialogue process launched in February, aimed at uniting the country and steering it to safety.

“The Syrian people, who thwarted attempts to divide the country before independence, will defeat these projects again,” he said, adding that Syria will continue confidently toward building the Second Republic.

The official confirmed that the government will not participate in any scheduled meetings in Paris and will not sit at the negotiating table with any party seeking to revive the pre-2011 political order. He called on the SDF to engage seriously in implementing the March 10 agreement and urged international mediators to move all negotiations to Damascus, describing it as the sole legitimate and exclusive venue for internal Syrian dialogue.

The al-Hasakah conference

A conference titled “Unity of the Position of the Components of the North and East Syria Region” was held on Friday in the city of al-Hasakah under the slogan “Together for diversity that strengthens our unity… with our partnership, we build our future.” Representatives of the region’s various ethnic and religious components took part in the gathering.

In its final statement, the conference said it convened at a “sensitive national stage” and out of “shared responsibility for the country’s present and future.” It brought together representatives of the region’s components, be they Kurds, Arabs, Syriac Assyrians, Turkmen, Armenians, Circassians, or others, to reaffirm their joint commitment to a national democratic path based on diversity, partnership, and equal citizenship.

Participants highlighted the marginalization and exclusion these communities have faced under successive central governments.

The statement said that what is taking place in various parts of the country, particularly on the coast, Sweida, and Christian areas, amounts to crimes against humanity. These, it stressed, require impartial and transparent investigations to identify those responsible, “whoever they may be,” as they undermine the entire Syrian national fabric.

Toward decentralized state, democratic constitution

On the political vision for a solution, the statement called for drafting a democratic constitution that enshrines ethnic and religious diversity and establishes a decentralized state based on good governance, social justice, and freedom of belief.

It also urged a review of the current constitutional declaration, describing it as falling short of Syrians’ aspirations, and emphasized the need to launch a transitional justice process to achieve national reconciliation, ensuring truth-seeking, redress for victims, and creating conditions for the return of displaced persons while rejecting demographic change.

The statement further stressed the importance of revising administrative divisions to reflect geographical and cultural specificities, and of strengthening the role of women, youth, and civil society in state-building while rejecting hate speech.

The March 10 agreement

Syria, SDF, sign integration agreement

The Syrian interim presidency announced on March 10 that an agreement had been reached to integrate the Syrian Democratic Forces into the country’s state institutions, while the interim presidency stated that executive committees will oversee the implementation of the agreement by the end of the year.

The most important provisions of the agreement include: 

1. A nationwide ceasefire across all Syrian territories;
2. Ensuring the rights of all Syrians in state institutions based on merit, regardless of religious background;
3. Recognizing the Kurdish community as an integral part of the Syrian state, with full citizenship rights and constitutional protections;
4. Guaranteeing the right of all Syrians to political representation and participation;
5. Integrating all civil and military institutions in northeastern Syria under state administration, including border crossings, airports, and oil and gas fields;
6. Facilitating the return of all displaced Syrians while ensuring their protection by the state;
7. Supporting the Syrian state in its efforts to combat remnants of the previous regime and all threats to national security and unity;
8. Rejecting calls for partition, hate speech, and any attempts to sow discord among Syria’s diverse communities.

Prior to that, leader of the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) Abdullah Ocalan called for his party to lay down all arms and dissolve on February 27, a decision that Mazloum Abdi, leader of the SDF, welcomed while emphasizing that the decision does not impact his armed group.