Syria Pulls Out of Paris Talks With Kurdish-Led Forces Amid Rising Tensions

Damascus cancels planned Paris meeting with the Syrian Democratic Forces, citing a Kurdish-led conference it claims undermined a recent integration deal — with reports suggesting Turkish pressure played a role.

Government Demands Talks Be Held in Damascus

Syria’s new interim government has withdrawn from planned talks with the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) in Paris, state news agency SANA reported on Saturday.
The government insisted that any future negotiations be held in Damascus, calling the Syrian capital “the legitimate and national address for dialogue among Syrians.”

The decision casts doubt on a March agreement between the SDF and the post-Assad administration to integrate Kurdish-led territories and forces into Syria’s state institutions. The deal was hailed as a step toward reuniting a country fractured by 14 years of war, but it left unresolved how the SDF’s military units would be merged with Syria’s armed forces.

Kurdish Conference Sparks Dispute

According to SANA, the withdrawal followed an “Joint Stance Conference” hosted by the SDF in Hasakah, which gathered various minority groups. Damascus accused the event of giving a platform to “separatist” figures and of undermining the March accord.

The conference’s final statement called for a democratic constitution establishing a decentralized state and ensuring participation from all communities — language the government claimed sought to “revive the era of the deposed regime under another name.”

Participants also criticized the government over recent sectarian clashes in Suwayda province and Syria’s coastal region, and urged revisions to the current constitutional declaration to allow for broader representation during the transitional period.

Reports of Turkish Pressure

Al-Monitor, citing diplomatic sources, reported that Turkish pressure influenced Damascus’s decision to pull out of the Paris talks.
The outlet claimed that Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan’s visit to Damascus last week was aimed at urging the Syrian government to abandon the meeting.

Ankara has long opposed Kurdish-led autonomous governance in northern Syria, considering the SDF’s backbone militia — the YPG — to be linked to the PKK, which Turkey designates as a terrorist organization.

Renewed Military Friction

The diplomatic rift comes amid an uptick in clashes between the SDF and government-backed forces this month.
On Saturday, the SDF accused pro-government factions of carrying out more than 22 attacks on northeastern Syria. The group said it had exercised restraint but warned that continued “aggressions” threaten mutual trust and undermine existing understandings.

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