Politics

In U-turn, Syrian Kurds are now demanding federalism

Having agreed on an outline for integration with Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa last month, Kurdish-led groups have now issued a raft of contradictory demands, angering both Damascus and Ankara

Delil SOULEIMAN / AFP

SDF leader Mazloum Abdi (C) and Hamid Darbandi (C-R behind), envoy of Iraqi Kurdish politician Masoud Barzani, attend the pan-Kurdish "Unity and Consensus" conference in Qamishli in northeastern Syria on April 26, 2025.

In U-turn, Syrian Kurds are now demanding federalism

Omer Onhon

last update on 30 Apr 2025

On 26 April, the first Kurdish National Conference convened in Qamishli, the main city of northeastern Syria, which Kurds and many other countries refer to as Rojava. It was organised by two organisations that have been at odds for a long time: the National Council of Syrian Kurds (ENKS) and the Democratic Union Party (PYD).

There is a new Syria in the making, and Kurds are a major component. Consequently, their stance on issues could play a major role in shaping the future of the country, or even determine whether Syria will drift into a new conflict.

The purpose of the meeting was in the title—the Rojava Kurdish Unity and Common Position Conference aimed to create a unified Kurdish delegation with a common negotiating position with the central government in Damascus. But its implications go beyond Rojava and even Syria.

Massoud Barzani, who served as president of the Kurdistan Region of Iraq from 2005 to 2017, described the meeting as "a historic turning point" for the Kurdish people. Around 400 delegates included representatives from Kurdish groups both inside and outside Syria (most of which have been in conflict or serious disagreement with each other), plus representatives of non-governmental organisations, foreign diplomats, and no doubt quite a few intelligence operatives.

List of demands

Opening the conference, Syrian Kurdish leader Mazloum Abdi, the commander of the Syrian Democratic Forces, said Kurds had no intention of dividing Syria and that they were committed to its territorial integrity. If the Kurds were given their rights, he said, Syria would be stronger.

Delil SOULEIMAN / AFP — Mazloum Abdi, commander-in-chief of the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), speaks during the pan-Kurdish "Unity and Consensus" conference in Qamishli in northeastern Syria on April 26, 2025.

Making positive references to all ethnic, religious and sectarian segments of Syrian society, aspects of Abdi’s speech acted as reassurance, its content likely having been influenced by his American and French advisors, wary of upsetting Damascus and also other regional actors such as Türkiye.

However, elsewhere in his speech, Abdi spelt out the Kurdish demands. These were confirmed and adopted at the conference as the common position of the Kurds, starting with the demand that Syria be a multi-ethnic, multi-religious, multicultural country governed by a federal and decentralised system.

He urged recognition of the Kurdish regions as a single and unified political and administrative unit within a federal Syria, that the regions’ infrastructure be reconstructed (like the rest of Syria), and that the Kurdish areas should enjoy equitable distribution of natural resources.

Further, he demanded the recognition of Kurdish as a second official language and rights regarding education, all with constitutional protection, and wanted guaranteed Kurdish representation in all state institutions. Finally, he sought a reversal of past policies of the Arab Belt project and the cancellation of all demographic engineering decisions.

Angry reaction

At the conference’s conclusion, Democratic Union Party (PYD) officials read out the final declaration, announcing a common Kurdish position and the formation of a joint Kurdish delegation to be established immediately. Syria’s interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa, who met Abdi recently to agree on a framework agreement, was less than impressed.

At the conference, Kurdish groups said Syria should be a multi-ethnic, multi-religious, multi-cultural country governed by a federal and decentralised system

That meeting (in March) "represented a positive step toward calm and openness to a comprehensive national solution", read a presidential statement in response, but "recent moves and statements by the SDF leadership—calling for federalism and establishing a separate reality on the ground—contradict the content of the agreement and threaten the country's unity and territorial integrity".

A clearly surprised and disappointed al-Sharaa added that "any attempt to impose a divisive reality or establish separate entities under the guise of federalism or self-administration without comprehensive national consensus is rejected", adding that "the unity of Syria… is a red line".

The statement further emphasised that Kurdish references to changing the demographic structure in some regions threatened the social fabric of Syria and weakened the chances of a comprehensive national solution. It also underlined the gap between Damascus and the autonomous Kurdish-majority north-east, dashing hopes of an imminent long-term agreement.

Foreign actors

Türkiye sees armed Kurdish groups in Syrian territory near its southern border as a national security threat, but did not officially respond to the outcome of the conference. Views in Ankara are nevertheless clear—it shares al-Sharaa's concerns and sees Kurdish demands as contradicting the 'red lines' outlined by the Turkish Foreign Minister and other Turkish officials in recent weeks.

The United States and France are sympathetic to the Kurds, having worked with Abdi, the SDF, and the armed elements (notably the People's Protection Units, or YPG). Although NATO members, alongside Türkiye, see the Kurds as useful allies, as they were in the fight against the Islamic State (IS).

Washington and Paris have mediated between opposing Kurdish groups, both those in Syria and those abroad, and are believed to have sponsored the Rojava Conference. The Americans have also helped bring Abdi and al-Sharaa to the negotiating table, and are also working behind the scenes to ease Turkish-Kurdish tensions.

US mediation is conducted with one eye on its pending reduction in military personnel in Syria, with a view to withdrawing completely in the near future, so the Americans are keen for the groundwork to be laid ahead of their departure.

Balancing act

Türkiye, which is grappling with some major economic problems, is unlikely to hold its tongue over Syria, but it needs to tread carefully, not least because there are ongoing discussions with the terrorist group PKK about its disbanding, which would be a major achievement for Ankara if it could be realised.

Another calculation is that undertaking military action against Kurdish groups in Syria could put Türkiye at odds with the Trump administration, when US President Donald Trump and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan have a good relationship. Instead, a combination of diplomacy and hard power is more likely—at least for now.

Be that as it may, if Syria's Kurds insist on the demands made at the conference—demands that neither Damascus nor neighbouring countries could accept—then the risk of renewed conflict is a possibility, drawing in third parties. This is not what Syria needs, and it is not what Syria wants, leading many to hope that common sense prevails.

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