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Syrian President Ahmad al-Sharaa on Sunday noted discrepancies between the YPG’s publicly stated position and their actual on-the-ground actions concerning the March 10 agreement.
“At times on the ground, there are signals opposite to what they say in the negotiations,” al-Sharaa said.
His remarks came during a Wednesday meeting with a delegation from the northern province of Idlib and were aired in a video released Sunday by the presidency.
Al-Sharaa said the SDF, an umbrella group of the YPG, declares through the media and in negotiations that it is ready to implement the March 10 deal while giving contradictory signals in practice. He noted that discussions are still underway on the mechanisms for carrying out the agreement.
The president said Syria, the SDF, the U.S. and Türkiye reached an understanding under the deal, adding that if those four key players in northeast Syria agree on a matter, it will be implemented.
“These parties are pushing for a solution peacefully. I hope we don’t enter into a dispute. I am hopeful that in a few months we will resolve it,” al-Sharaa said.
He stressed that the agreement carries a deadline for implementation by the end of the year, emphasizing international support for a peaceful settlement in northeast Syria.
Al-Sharaa voiced optimism the issue could be resolved within months, reiterating that Syria “will not concede an inch of its land” and will protect the rights of all under state law and the constitution.
Under the March deal, the SDF forces would merge with the new Syrian national army. The agreement, which is supposed to be implemented by the end of the year, would also bring all border crossings with Iraq and Türkiye, and airports and oil fields in the northeast under the central government’s control. Detention centers housing thousands of Daesh members, now guarded by the YPG, would also come under government control.
However, the agreement left the details vague, and progress on implementation has been slow. A major sticking point has been whether the YPG would remain as a cohesive unit in the new army or whether the force would be dissolved and its members individually absorbed into the new military.
It marks a major breakthrough that would bring most of Syria under the control of the government led by the group that spearheaded the ousting of dictator Bashar Assad in December.
The SDF, which is the Syrian branch of the PKK terror group, had refused to join the new Syrian Defense Ministry following the fall of the Assad regime in Syria.
The deal to be implemented by the end of the year would bring all border crossings with Iraq and Türkiye in the northeast, airports and oil fields under the control of the central government.
Syria’s Kurds will gain their rights, including teaching and using their language, which were banned for decades under Assad.
Since 2015, the PKK/YPG has occupied several Syrian provinces, including Arab-majority Deir el-Zour, a resource-rich region bordering Iraq, bisected by the Euphrates River and home to dozens of tribal communities.
The terrorist group has forced many locals to migrate, bringing in its members to change the regional demographic structure, conducting arbitrary arrests, kidnapping children of local tribes for forced recruitment and assassinating tribe leaders to yoke local groups.
It has also seized the region’s oil wells – Syria’s largest – and smuggled oil to the Syrian regime, despite U.S. sanctions, to generate revenue for its activities.
U.S. forces in Syria have trained thousands of YPG/PKK terrorists in their military bases in the region under the pretext of combating terrorism. The U.S. has also provided YPG/PKK terrorists with huge amounts of weapons and combat equipment. Türkiye, which has troops inside Syria, and Turkish-backed opposition groups in Syria’s northwest, routinely clashed with the PKK/YPG, which sought to establish a terror corridor along the country’s border.
Concerns over escalation
The collapse of follow-up talks since the March deal has escalated tensions in the region, triggering fresh clashes this month between government troops and the SDF/YPG.
The SDF/YPG, which controls parts of northeast Syria where Arabs form a majority, has recently fortified extensive tunnel networks along the front lines. Many tribal Arabs accuse the SDF/YPG of discriminatory policies.
Opposition groups have also reinforced their positions amid concerns over a potential large-scale escalation in hostilities, officials say.
Ankara has warned of military action against the SDF/YPG. It expects the Syrian government to address its security concerns but says it reserves the right to mount an offensive if needed.
Most recently, Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan last week accused the YPG of trying to turn instability in Syria into an “opportunity for themselves.”
“The upper echelons of the YPG need to stop stalling because the chaos they’re waiting for (in Syria) will not take place, and even if it does, it will not be to their advantage,” Fidan said.
U.S. envoy for Syria, Tom Barrack – an advocate for a strong, unified Syrian state – voiced concern last month over the SDF/YPG’s delays in implementing the March deal, urging faster progress.
Authorities in Damascus reacted angrily earlier this month to a recent SDF conference calling for greater decentralisation, and which demanded a review of a constitutional declaration it said discriminated against minorities, a move officials said threatened Syria’s territorial integrity.
Syrian officials said any military push against the SDF would rely on opposition factions operating in northern Syria, adding that Ankara has grown impatient with what it sees as SDF/YPG foot-dragging.
Al-Sharaa said those who sought partition were “dreaming” and insisted the country would not give up any stretch of territory. He also criticized Druze groups seeking support from Israel in their confrontation with Damascus.
Thousands joined a large Druze protest in Sweida on Saturday, demanding self-determination, hoisting Israeli flags and praising Israel for a military intervention that forced Syrian forces to retreat.
Al-Sharaa acknowledged that “violations” had been committed by security forces and army personnel in Sweida, but said Druze militias had also perpetrated crimes.
