The Sharaa-Abdi meeting has failed!

The city of Hasakah in northeastern Syria is witnessing a state of escalating tension, after both the Syrian government and the Syria Democratic Forces (SDF) began to mobilize their forces at the entrances to the city in eastern Syria, following the failure of the meeting between Syrian President Ahmed al Sharaa and SDF commander Mazloum Abdi on Monday, January 19.

The meeting between the two sides lasted about 5 hours, during which President Sharaa made an offer that included granting Mazloum Abdi a government position, in addition to agreeing on the name of a candidate for the position of governor of Hasakah, on the condition that he disassociated himself from the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK).

On the other hand, Abdi stipulated that Hasakah province remain under the civil and military administration of the SDF, which was met with a clear presidential rejection, as Sharaa insisted on the entry of the ministries of defense and interior into the province as a prerequisite for the completion of any agreement.

Abdi also asked for a five-day deadline to consult with SDF leaders, but this request was also rejected.

According to Fawza Youssef, a member of the Kurdish Democratic Union Party (PYD) co-chair and a member of the SDF’s negotiating delegation, described the meeting as “not positive,” considering that Damascus seeks to restore the situation to the pre-2011 situation.

In media statements, she stressed that the SDF rejects what it described as surrender, accusing the Syrian government of seeking to end the institutions of self-administration and prevent the Kurds from obtaining their political and administrative rights.

Yousef also accused ISIS elements of participating alongside government forces in confrontations against the SDF, while there was no official comment from Damascus on these allegations.

The two sides had signed, under the auspices of the United States, a preliminary agreement that stipulates the handing over of border crossings and oil and gas fields in the area to the Syrian government, and securing them by the regular forces, in addition to integrating the SDF’s military and security elements individually within the Ministries of Defense and Interior after conducting a comprehensive security audit, while guaranteeing their employment rights and protecting the privacy of the Kurdish areas.

In a striking escalation, SDF spokesman Farhad Shami called on Kurds in eastern Syria, Iraq and southern Türkiye, as well as Kurdish youth in Europe, to resist.

In a post on X, he threatened to “turn the cities of Malikiyah (Derek), Hasakeh and Ayn al Arab (Kobani) into a graveyard for a new generation of those affected by ISIS,” as he put it.

The Autonomous Administration, the civilian arm of the SDF, also announced a state of general alert and the start of large-scale armaments operations in the city of Hasakah, in parallel with the mobilization of civilians capable of carrying weapons, according to field correspondents.

On the other hand, a military source confirmed that the Syrian army has also begun to reinforce its forces towards Hasakah, pointing to the bombing of SDF sites in preparation for a military operation aimed at extending control over the entire area.

At the time of writing, the Syrian government has not issued an official statement on the outcome of the meeting or military developments.

The latest meeting between Sharaa and Abdi aimed at completing the implementation of a 14-point agreement, most notably a ceasefire, the withdrawal of the SDF formations to the east of the Euphrates, the handing over of Deir Ezzor and Raqqa provinces to the Syrian government, the integration of civil institutions in Hasakah into the state structures, and the government’s handling of the file of prisons and ISIS camps.

The agreement also stipulated the expulsion of non-Syrian leaders of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party from the country, the recognition of the cultural and linguistic rights of the Kurds, the return of the people of Afrin and Sheikh Maqsood, in addition to the continuation of coordination in the fight against ISIS.

These developments accelerated after the withdrawal of the SDF from areas in the eastern countryside of Aleppo, followed by violent clashes that ended with the Syrian government taking control of Deir Ezzor and Raqqa, in light of tribal movements opposing the presence of the SDF in the area.