Syria's Kurds will insist on a decentralized system of government in upcoming talks with the new authorities in Damascus, a senior Kurdish official said on Monday.
The Kurdish-led administration in northeastern Syria signed an agreement with the new Syrian government in March to integrate into Syria's state institutions.
The two sides are expected to meet again in Damascus "soon" to discuss the implementation of the deal, Badran Ciya Kurd, a senior official in the Kurdish-led administration, told AFP.
Kurdish-led forces have been in control of much of Syria's northeast, including its oil fields, since the outbreak of the country's civil war in 2011.
With support from a US-led international coalition, the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces played a key role in the Islamic State group's territorial defeat in Syria, achieved in 2019.
The Kurdish official said the delegation will demand "a decentralized, pluralistic, democratic Syria."
"The mosaic of Syrian society cannot be governed by a political system that monopolizes all powers and does not recognize the distinctiveness of regions and components," they added.
The Kurds were marginalized and repressed during the decades of the Assad family's rule over Syria, which ended with Bashar al-Assad's overthrow in December.
Despite the March agreement, they rejected a temporary constitutional declaration announced by the Islamist-led Syrian authorities in March and said the new government failed to reflect the country's diversity, accusing it of centralizing Syria's decision-making.
This month, Syrian Foreign Minister Assaad al-Shaibani warned that "the unity of Syrian territory is non-negotiable," adding that any delays in implementing the agreement with the Kurds would "prolong the chaos" in the country.
AFP
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