Syria's government refuses Paris talks with Kurdish-led SDF, demands dialogue in Damascus

Damascus [Syria], August 10 (ANI): Syria's new government will not participate in planned meetings with the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) in Paris, Al Jazeera reported, amid rising tensions between the two sides.

Quoting an unnamed government source, Syria's state news agency SANA said the government insists that future negotiations be held in Damascus, "as it is the legitimate and national address for dialogue among Syrians," Al Jazeera added. The report casts doubt on an integration deal signed earlier this year between the SDF and Syria's interim government following the overthrow of Bashar al-Assad in December.

The SDF, which was the main US ally in Syria during the 2019 campaign against ISIL (ISIS), signed a deal with the new government in March to join Syria's state institutions. The deal aims to reunify a country fractured by 14 years of war and pave the way for Kurdish-led forces, who control a quarter of Syria, to integrate with Damascus, Al Jazeera reported.

However, the agreement did not clarify how the SDF will merge with Syria's armed forces. The Kurdish group insists its forces must join as a bloc, while the government demands individual integration, Al Jazeera noted.

The government's refusal to join Paris talks follows a Kurdish-led conference involving Syrian minority communities, the first since al-Assad's ouster. The conference's final statement called for "a democratic constitution that ... establishes a decentralised state" and guarantees the participation of all Syrian society components. Damascus has rejected calls for decentralisation, Al Jazeera reported.

SANA's report said the government "stresses that the SDF conference dealt a blow to the ongoing negotiation efforts" towards implementing the March agreement. It added, "Accordingly, the government will not participate in any meetings scheduled in Paris, nor will it sit at the negotiating table with any side seeking to revive the era of the deposed regime under any name or cover," Al Jazeera reported.

Participants in the Kurdish conference also criticised the government over sectarian clashes in Syria's southern Suwayda province and coastal region. The final statement read, "The current constitutional declaration does not meet the aspirations of the Syrian people. ... It should be reviewed to ensure a wider participatory process and a fair representation in the transitional period," Al Jazeera added.

The dispute follows recent clashes between the Syrian government and the SDF. On Saturday, the SDF accused government-backed factions of attacking areas in northeastern Syria over 22 times. The Kurdish group said it exercised restraint during these "aggressions" but warned that continued attacks "threatens mutual trust and undermines understandings," Al Jazeera reported. (ANI)

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