After the commander of the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), Mazloum Abdi, confirmed that an SDF committee will visit Damascus in the coming days to discuss the mechanism for integrating these forces into the Syrian army, a knowledgeable Syrian source reported that the SDF also expressed readiness to hand over oil production in Deir Ezzor fields to the Syrian government.

The source said on Saturday that “the understanding regarding Deir Ezzor oil came during the meeting between Syrian President Ahmad Al-Shar and Abdi in Damascus last week,” according to Syria TV.

He also pointed out that the understandings between the two sides were verbal and stipulated handing over Deir Ezzor oil to the government while the SDF retains a percentage of production for the local market, which has not yet been determined.

Starting from Deir Ezzor

According to the understandings, the process of integrating northeastern Syria areas will begin from Deir Ezzor, including oil fields, civil institutions, and military and security forces as a first phase.

Meanwhile, the SDF will retain management of the area through its institutional members and local employees, alongside granting the government the right to appoint staff and members within the oil fields, security and military forces, and service institutions by mutual agreement.

In this context, Ibrahim Humaidi, editor-in-chief of Al-Majalla magazine, noted in a post on X that there are tangible steps to implement the Al-Shar–Abdi agreement with American presence.

He also mentioned that a military committee will discuss SDF integration into the army, while another committee will discuss decentralization and local administration.

Meetings will also be held to discuss the constitution, education, and health.

Positive Meeting

A Kurdish military source from the SDF confirmed to Al Arabiya.net/Al Hadath.net a few days ago that the recent Damascus meeting “was positive, and further meetings between SDF representatives and Damascus will follow in the coming period,” with the United States and France playing a mediation role between the two sides.

Also, a source close to the “Autonomous Administration” delegation negotiating with Damascus stated that committees are expected to resume their work, especially the joint committee concerned with amending the constitutional declaration, and that meetings will continue with the government, noting that the SDF integration process will be the focus of discussion in the coming period.

It is worth mentioning that Damascus and the “Autonomous Administration” formed joint committees after the March 10 agreement between Abdi and Al-Shar to implement all the agreement’s provisions, which stipulated “the integration of civil and military institutions in northern and eastern Syria,” guaranteeing Kurdish rights constitutionally, the return of displaced persons, and ensuring the participation of all Syrians in the transitional process, alongside other provisions related to rejecting division calls and combating remnants of the former regime.

The two sides began negotiating openly after the March agreement, but several obstacles prevented continuing the discussions. While the Autonomous Administration insisted on maintaining the SDF’s distinctiveness within the Syrian army, Damascus rejected this request.

The Autonomous Administration also demanded a decentralized state, while the Syrian government insisted on a centralized state.