PYD Foreign Relations spokesperson Salih Muslim praised the agreement signed by SDF’s commander Mazloum Abdi and Syria’s interim president Ahmed al-Sharaa (al-Julani), describing it as a consolidation of the achievements of the Rojava Revolution, in an interview with ANF News on 11 March. The deal, signed the previous day, includes eight articles of crucial significance for the future of Syria, its minorities, and its economy. He also stressed the consistency of the agreement with the contents of the recent letter written by imprisoned Kurdish leader Abdullah Öcalan calling for the Kurdistan Worker’s Party (PKK) to disband.
Salih Muslim highlighted that the provisions were discussed at a joint meeting of the Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria (AANES) and the SDF a few days ago, during which they agreed that committees must be formed to discuss the details of each article of the agreement both internally and with the interim government. These committees are expected to develop a plan to implement the agreement’s provisions before the end of the year, which could include drafting a new interim constitution and holding referendums.
According to Muslim, the general framework of the accord consolidates the achievements of the Rojava Revolution, a social movement which emerged in North and East Syria after the onset of the Syrian Civil War in 2012. “With this agreement, we can say that the Rojava Revolution has been consolidated. From now on, we are partners in everything related to this state—its administration, constitution, daily life, economy, everything,” he said.
The first and second articles of the agreement, which call for enshrining the right to representation, political participation, and citizenship for all Syrians, regardless of religious or ethnic background, must to be implemented across the entire Syrian territory, Muslim stressed.
Particularly important for the diverse ethnic and religious communities in northern Syria is a call for a nationwide ceasefire, and Muslim insisted that any attacks on northern Syria by Turkey or the Turkish-backed Syrian National Army (SNA) would be deemed illegal according to the agreement. The unified Syrian army would be obliged to respond to such attacks as one fighting force.
Meanwhile, the vicinity of the Tishreen (Tişrîn) Dam continues to be attacked by Turkey and mercenaries of the Turkish state, so an immediate response remains critical. Muslim added that border crossings, and the distribution and administration of key resources would be jointly protected by this new unified army.
Regarding the letter written by Öcalan calling for the dissolution of the PKK, Muslim confirmed that the current political process in Syria is perfectly in line with this call, emphasising that Öcalan did not imply the disarming of self-defence forces in northern Syria. Muslim concluded by encouraging the Syrian people not to believe biased media.
