Abdi stated that he had a phone call with the US envoy to Syria, Tom Barack, to discuss the results of the White House meeting that brought together President al-Shara and US President Donald Trump, stating: “We affirmed our commitment to accelerating the integration of the Syrian Democratic Forces into the Syrian state, and working with our partners in the international coalition to ensure a more prosperous and secure future for our people.”
He added that Syria’s official joining of the international coalition against ISIS constitutes “a pivotal step to strengthen joint efforts in the final elimination of the organization and prevent its return to the region.”
For his part, Syrian President Ahmed al-Shara called, in an interview with the Washington Post, for the American forces to supervise the process of integrating the “SDF” into the Syrian army, stressing that “the protection of Syrian territory remains the responsibility of the state alone.”
Al-Shara said: “I believe that the ideal solution is to assign the task of supervising the integration process to the American forces stationed in Syria, while the Syrian state bears the responsibility of protecting its lands and sovereignty.”
It is reported that al-Shara made an official visit to Washington two days ago, during which he met with President Trump, and the two sides discussed a number of issues, most notably the lifting of sanctions on Syria, its reintegration into the international community, and the course of negotiations with Israel.
In contrast, Turkish sources revealed last week that about 2,000 members of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party had joined the “SDF” since the beginning of the year, while Siban Hamo, a member of the General Command of the “SDF,” stated that negotiations with Damascus “are going through a sensitive stage without achieving tangible progress so far.”
