US welcomes Syrian state agreement with Kurdish SDF
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A Turkish Defense Ministry official says that Turkiye's armed forces are continuing operations against Kurdish militants in northern Syria.
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US Secretary of State Marco Rubio boards a military airplane prior to departing from King Abdulaziz International Airport in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, on Wednesday, March 12, 2025, as he travels to Canada for a G7 Foreign Ministers meeting. (AP)
The US welcomes the recently announced agreement between the Syrian interim authorities and the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) to integrate the northeast into a unified Syria, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio stated on Tuesday.
The Kurdish-led and US-backed SDF, which controls much of northeastern Syria, signed an accord to integrate into Syria’s state institutions, the Syrian presidency announced on Monday.
Rubio emphasized that the US "reaffirms its support for a political transition that demonstrates credible, non-sectarian governance as the best path to avoid further conflict."
"We will continue to watch the decisions made by the interim authorities, noting with concern the recent deadly violence against minorities," he added, referring to the sectarian mass killings that swept Syria's coast.
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said that 1,225 civilians, the vast majority of whom were Alawites, had been killed since violence began on Thursday.
The latest agreement stipulates that SDF-controlled civilian and military institutions in northeastern Syria will be incorporated into the state. Additionally, border crossings, an airport, and key oil and gas fields in the region will be placed under the control of Damascus.
Turkish President Recep Tayyeb Erdogan has also welcomed the recent agreement between the SDF and the new Syrian regime.
"The full implementation of the agreement reached yesterday in Syria will contribute to the country’s security and stability. The beneficiaries of this will be all our Syrian brothers and sisters," Erdogan announced on Tuesday in televised comments.
He added, "We attach great importance to the territorial integrity of our neighbor Syria, the preservation of its unitary structure, and the strengthening of its unity and stability," while a Turkish official said that Turkiye is "cautiously optimistic" about the deal, emphasizing that the Kurdish group has "made promises before, too, so we are looking at implementation rather than at the expression of intent here."
Turkiye's ops against Kurdish militants in northern Syria ongoing: MoD official
Meanwhile, a Turkish Defense Ministry official pointed out on Wednesday that Turkiye's armed forces are continuing operations against Kurdish militants in northern Syria, including on Tuesday.
The official did not disclose the specific locations of the operations. Ankara considers the SDF, which controls much of northeastern Syria, to be linked to the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), a designated terrorist organization in Turkiye, and has launched multiple cross-border incursions against them.
The announcement comes nearly two weeks after a historic call by jailed PKK founder Abdullah Ocalan for the group to lay down its weapons and disband.
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