The offensive in Syria interrupts Kurdish dialogue and raises tensions in Turkey
The situation in Syria remains complicated.
Negotiations between the Syrian president and the leader of the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) have failed, a Kurdish official said, as government troops advanced deeper into Kurdish-controlled areas, fuelling renewed clashes in northern Syria and causing tensions on the border with Turkey.
President Ahmed al-Sharaa and SDF commander Mazloum Abdi had held talks in Damascus aimed at securing a ceasefire and agreeing on the integration of the Kurdish administration and armed forces into the Syrian state. The talks came after the Syrian Army's rapid territorial advance in areas long controlled by the SDF and were widely seen as a crucial test of whether the Kurdish question in Syria could be resolved through political agreement rather than force.
- Failure of talks and demands for surrender
- Call between Damascus and Washington and new clashes
- SDF mobilisation and concessions after the ceasefire
- Reactions in Deir Ezzor and Raqqa and changes on the ground
- Doubts about the durability of agreements and recognition of the Kurds
- Tensions on the Turkish border and warnings from Ankara
- Impact on the PKK process and protests in Turkish cities
- PKK statements and risk of cross-border unrest
Failure of talks and demands for surrender
However, Kurdish officials said the talks ended without agreement, accusing Damascus of demanding total capitulation. ‘The negotiations held in Damascus between General Mazloum and Mr Al-Sharaa have completely failed,’ said Abdel Karim Omar, a senior Kurdish official. ‘Their only demand is unconditional surrender. A firm and decisive stance from the international community is urgently required.’
Syrian Kurds established a de facto autonomous region in the north of the country during the civil war, exercising self-rule for more than a decade with US backing in the fight against Islamic State. Al-Sharaa, who has the support of both Washington and Ankara, has rejected Kurdish demands for decentralisation or federal agreements, insisting instead on the full redeployment of the Syrian army throughout the country.
Call between Damascus and Washington and new clashes
The Kurdish issue was discussed during a telephone call between Al-Sharaa and US President Donald Trump, according to the Syrian presidency. Both leaders stressed the need to guarantee the rights and protection of the Kurdish people within the framework of the Syrian state, while affirming the importance of preserving the unity and independence of Syrian territory and cooperation against Islamic State.
Despite the ceasefire announced over the weekend, fighting briefly erupted on Monday in the northern city of Raqqa, the former de facto capital of the Islamic State in Syria. A correspondent reported heavy shelling and on Tuesday witnessed a large convoy of armoured vehicles and troops heading for the north-eastern city of Hasakeh, a Kurdish stronghold with a sizeable Arab population.
SDF mobilisation and concessions after the ceasefire
In response to the army's advance, the SDF called for mobilisation, urging young Kurds, men and women, from inside and outside Syria to join the resistance. In Hasakeh, journalists saw dozens of civilians, including women and elderly people, taking up arms and manning checkpoints.
Under the ceasefire agreement reached on Sunday, the SDF agreed to cede control of the Arab-majority provinces of Deir Ezzor and Raqqa, which they had administered since the US-backed defeat of Islamic State. Damascus also assumed responsibility for thousands of IS detainees and their families held in Kurdish-run prisons and camps.
Reactions in Deir Ezzor and Raqqa and changes on the ground
In Deir Ezzor, residents expressed their exhaustion after years of instability. ‘We are not asking for a miracle, we just want stability and a normal life,’ said Safia Keddo, a 49-year-old teacher. In Raqqa, residents tore down a statue of a woman erected during the Kurdish regime. ‘We support the civil rights of the Kurds, but we do not support them playing a military role,’ said Khaled al-Afnan, 34.
The SDF has already withdrawn from several strategic points, such as the Al-Omar oil field, Syria's largest, and the nearby Tanak oil field. Local Arab tribal fighters, some of whom had previously allied themselves with the SDF, allied themselves with Damascus and took over the areas before the arrival of government forces.
Doubts about the durability of agreements and recognition of the Kurds
Analysts warn that the government's push has cast doubt on the durability of both the ceasefire and a broader March agreement between Damascus and the Kurds.
Mutlu Civiroglu, a Washington-based expert on Kurdish affairs, said the advances had raised serious doubts about the durability of the agreements reached so far.
Although Al-Sharaa issued a decree last week granting official recognition to the Kurds, Kurdish leaders said it fell short of their expectations.
In Qamishli, the main Kurdish city in northeastern Syria, activist Hevi Ahmed described the agreement as ‘a disappointment after years of hope that the Syrian constitution could hold a better future for the Kurds.’
Tensions on the Turkish border and warnings from Ankara
The events have had repercussions across the border in Turkey, home to a significant Kurdish minority. Ankara warned on Tuesday that it would not tolerate any provocation as Kurdish groups prepared protests against the Syrian offensive, which Turkey has described as a legitimate fight against terrorism.
Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya said Turkish authorities were closely monitoring developments. ‘We are closely monitoring, minute by minute, the recent developments in Syria and all movements along our border,’ he wrote on X. ‘We will not tolerate any initiative, provocation or disinformation campaign that threatens the peace of our country.’
Impact on the PKK process and protests in Turkish cities
The violence has also cast a shadow over Turkey's fragile peace process with the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), which last year announced it would end four decades of insurgency in favour of the democratic path. That process has largely stalled in the face of escalating fighting in Syria.
Inside Turkey, the pro-Kurdish DEM party called for protests in the southeastern city of Nusaybin, which borders Qamishli, accusing Ankara of hypocrisy. ‘You cannot treat those who call themselves “citizens” on this side of the border as “enemies” on the other,’ the party said. Police broke up demonstrations in Diyarbakir and Istanbul on Monday, arresting 10 people, including a French journalist.
PKK statements and risk of cross-border unrest
On Tuesday morning, PKK leader Murat Karayilan promised that the group would ‘never abandon’ the Kurds in Syria. ‘Whatever happens, we will never leave them alone... we, as the Kurdish people and as a movement, will do whatever is necessary,’ he told the pro-Kurdish news agency Firat.
Wladimir van Wilgenburg, an expert on Syrian Kurdish affairs, warned that the unrest could thwart Turkey's efforts to end the PKK conflict altogether. ‘There is a risk that it will erupt into cross-border protests,’ he said, pointing to calls for Kurds in Iraq and Turkey to join their counterparts in Syria.