The new Syria after the fall of Bashar al-Assad must be built on secular and civil values that respect the rights of minorities, and decentralization is key to ensuring that the country’s different groups can function together, Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) chief Mazloum Abdi said on Sunday.
“Our vision of Syria is a decentralized, secular and civil country based on democracy that preserves the rights of all of its components,” Abdi told the Associated Press in an interview. “Syria is mixed and not made up of Sunnis only. There are other identities.”
The Kurdish-controlled northeast and the Druze in the south of Syria have remained adamant about their vision of federalism and decentralization in post-Assad Syria despite the new Islamist authorities in Damascus vehemently rejecting the prospect – at times labeling it a “red line.”
But Abdi also stressed that the Kurds want to remain in Syria as part of a united country and do not seek a model similar to the Kurdistan Region in neighboring Iraq, explaining that they are not after an autonomous government or a regional parliament.
“Syria is not Iraq and Iraq is not Syria and northeast Syria is not Kurdistan [Region],” he said.
Last week, the groups that toppled Assad held a “Victory Conference” in Damascus, naming HTS leader Ahmed al-Sharaa as interim president, dissolving all armed groups and the parliament, and abolishing the country’s constitution.
When asked by AP about the meeting, Abdi said “we were not present there and we will not comment.”
Last week, Syria’s new transport minister told Rudaw that negotiations are ongoing between Damascus and the SDF, touching on a recent meeting between Sharaa and Abdi and stressing that the country will not be divided.
“We hope that the wise people in the SDF take the right path of Syrian unity and don’t drag the region into more bloodshed. The Syrian people have had enough with 14 years of fighting and destruction,” Bahaa al-Din Sharm told Rudaw’s Dilbixwin Dara.
However, Sharm accused the SDF of not allowing authorities from the new Damascus administration to operate in areas they previously let Assad’s regime operate.
“After Syria was liberated, they expelled these employees, and control went to the SDF, cutting communication with Damascus,” he said, adding that the Kurdish-led force has complete control over Qamishli airport.
A coalition of rebels led by the jihadist HTS led a lightning offensive on Damascus nearly two months ago, toppling the Assad regime and ending decades of Baathist rule as the capital fell.
Damascus has seen a steady flow of diplomatic visitors since Assad’s fall, with the new authorities keen on easing international sanctions on the war-ravaged country.
Its officials have also taken several trips abroad to regional countries. On Sunday, Sharaa went to Saudi Arabia and met with Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.
After the meeting, he said that Saudi had a “genuine desire to support Syria in building its future,” according to a statement from his office.
In late January, Saudi Arabia’s Foreign Minister Faisal bin Farhan visited Damascus and said in a presser that the kingdom is seeking to help war-ravaged Syria lift international sanctions.
Sharaa is also expected to visit northern neighbor Turkey soon. Ankara was a harsh critic of Assad and a staunch supporter of opposition forces in Syria. The Turkish government was one of the first to reopen its Damascus embassy and expand relations with Syria’s new rulers. [1]