DAMASCUS: Syrian Kurdish leader Mazloum Abdi said Thursday that “all efforts” were being made to prevent the collapse of talks on an agreement with Damascus to integrate his forces into the central government.
The remarks came days after Aleppo saw deadly clashes between the two sides before their respective leaders ordered a ceasefire.
In March, Abdi signed a deal with Syrian President Ahmed Al-Sharaa to merge the Kurds’ semi-autonomous administration into the government by year’s end, but differences have held up its implementation.
Abdi said the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), the Kurds’ de facto army, remained committed to the deal, adding in a statement that the two sides were working toward “mutual understanding” on military integration and counter-terrorism, and pledging further meetings with Damascus.
Downplaying the year-end deadline, he said the deal “did not specify a time limit for its ending or for the return to military solutions.”
He added that “all efforts are being made to prevent the collapse of this process” and that he considered failure unlikely.
Abdi also repeated the SDF’s demand for decentralization, which has been rejected by Syria’s Islamist authorities, who took power after ousting longtime ruler Bashar Assad last year.
Turkiye, an important ally of Syria’s new leaders, sees the presence of Kurdish forces on its border as a security threat.
In Damascus this week, Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan stressed the importance of the Kurds’ integration, having warned the week before that patience with the SDF “is running out.”
The SDF control large swathes of the country’s oil-rich north and northeast, and with the support of a US-led international coalition, were integral to the territorial defeat of the Daesh group in Syria in 2019.
Syria last month joined the anti-IS coalition and has announced operations against the jihadist group in recent days.
Syria Kurds chief says ‘all efforts’ being made to salvage deal with Damascus
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Syria Kurds chief says ‘all efforts’ being made to salvage deal with Damascus
- Abdi said the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), the Kurds’ de facto army, remained committed to the deal
- The two sides were working toward “mutual understanding” on military integration and counter-terrorism
Power supply across Kurdistan drops due to technical issue at Iraq’s Khor Mor gas field, ministry says
- A source at the field also said the technical glitch is under repair and expected to be resolved in a few hours
- The supply of 250 million standard cubic feet of gas has been reduced
BAGHDAD: Electricity supply across Kurdistan dropped by 1,000 megawatts due to a “teachnical issue” at Khor Mor gas field, one of the largest in the Kurdish region, the Kurdish ministry of electricity said on Thursday.
The Ministry of Natural Resources, together with the UAE’s Dana Gas teams, which jointly operate the field, are making efforts to address the problem and restore stability, the ministry of electricity said.
A source at the field also said the technical glitch is under repair and expected to be resolved in a few hours.
The ministry’s statement did not elaborate on what the technical issue was, but said the supply of 250 million standard cubic feet of gas has been reduced.
In November, a rocket hit a storage tank at the gas field, leading to a shutdown in production and extensive power cuts. Operations resumed days later.
The attack was the most significant since a series of drone attacks in July hit oilfields and cut production from the region by around 150,000 barrels per day.
The Kurdistan Regional Government exercises autonomy in northern Iraq, where US companies have significant investments in energy.
