Syria condemns terror group SDF’s conference, withdraws from planned Paris talks

ANKARA

The Syrian government on Saturday strongly condemned a recent conference organized by the terrorist group the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), calling it a “serious blow” to the ongoing negotiations and a “clear violation” of the March 10 agreement.

A senior government source cited by the Syrian Arab News Agency SANA said the event held in northeastern Syria was “not a unifying national framework” but rather a “fragile coalition” of parties seeking to undermine Syria’s unity and sovereignty.

Damascus accused the participants of “harboring separatist agendas, relying on foreign backing, and evading commitments under the peace process,” according to SANA.

The government condemned the hosting of “separatist figures involved in hostile acts,” saying this amounted to “an attempt to internationalize the Syrian issue, invite foreign intervention, and reimpose sanctions.”

It warned that proposals aired at the meeting, including calls for a new “national army nucleus,” revisions to the constitutional declaration, and changes to administrative divisions, directly contradicted provisions of the March 10 deal, which mandated the integration of all civil and military institutions in northeastern Syria into state structures.

Damascus also accused “extremist Kurdish factions” within the SDF of pursuing “systematic demographic change against Arab Syrians” under instructions from Iraq's Qandil Mountains, where the PKK terror group operated from.

The government stressed that the shape of the Syrian state must be determined “through a permanent constitution approved by popular referendum,” not “through factional understandings or armed coercion.”

As a result of the conference, the source confirmed that Syria will not participate in any planned meetings in Paris and will refuse to negotiate with “any party seeking to revive the era of the defunct regime under any name or cover.”

Damascus urged the SDF to “seriously engage” in implementing the March 10 agreement and called on international mediators to “relocate all talks to the Syrian capital,” describing Damascus as “the legitimate and national address for dialogue among Syrians.”

On March 10, the Syrian presidency announced the signing of an agreement for the integration of SDF into state institutions, reaffirming the country's territorial unity and rejecting any attempts at division.

The SDF is dominated by the terrorist group YPG, the Syrian branch of the terrorist PKK.

Bashar al-Assad, Syria’s leader for nearly 25 years, fled to Russia in December, ending the Baath Party regime, which had been in power since 1963.

A new transitional administration led by Ahmed Al-Sharaa was formed in January.