Syria's interim government and Kurdish-led SDF sign deal to integrate northeast institutions into the state
Syria's interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa and SDF commander Mazloum Abdi signed an agreement in Damascus on 10 March 2025 to integrate the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces' civil and military institutions into the Syrian state.
Summary
Syria's interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa and Mazloum Abdi, commander of the Kurdish-led and US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), signed an agreement in Damascus on 10 March 2025. It provides for integrating all civil and military institutions in north-eastern Syria into the state administration, including border crossings, airports and oil and gas fields. It recognises the Kurdish community as an integral part of the Syrian state with rights to citizenship and all constitutional rights, calls for a ceasefire across Syria, rejects division and hate speech, and asks executive committees to implement it by the end of 2025. The SDF controlled much of Syria's oil-rich north-east.
Key facts
- Date
- 10 March 2025, Damascus
- Signatories
- Interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa; SDF commander Mazloum Abdi
- Integration
- Civil and military bodies of NE Syria, incl. border crossings, airports, oil and gas fields
- Kurds
- Recognised as integral to the state; citizenship and constitutional rights
- Deadline
- End of 2025
Practice MCQs 3 questions
The Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), which signed an integration deal with Damascus on 10 March 2025, are led mainly by which community?
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Correct answer: B — Kurds
The SDF is a Kurdish-led, US-backed force that controlled much of north-eastern Syria.
Who signed the Syria–SDF integration agreement on behalf of the SDF on 10 March 2025?
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Correct answer: D — Mazloum Abdi
SDF commander Mazloum Abdi signed the deal with interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa in Damascus.
Consider the following statements about the Syria–SDF agreement of 10 March 2025: 1. Oil and gas fields in north-eastern Syria are to come under the administration of the Syrian state. 2. It grants the Kurdish-majority north-east a separate federal region with its own army. Which of the above is/are correct?
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Correct answer: A — 1 only
Statement 1 is correct: the deal integrates civil and military institutions, including border crossings, airports and oil and gas fields. Statement 2 is wrong: the agreement rejects division and integrates SDF bodies into the state.