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French backing for Damascus-SDF deal
Syrian interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa secured public backing from French President Emmanuel Macron for a recently announced comprehensive agreement between Damascus and the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF).
“Macron voiced support for the deal and stressed it must be implemented in ways that guarantee Syria’s unity and sovereignty, and pledged continued French coordination to help Syria move toward stability, justice and reconstruction.”
According to state media and reporting, the deal calls for an immediate ceasefire, phased integration of SDF military and administrative structures into state institutions, withdrawals from contact lines, and deployment of Interior Ministry forces to Hasakah and Qamishli.
These steps are presented as restoring state authority and enabling reconstruction.
French support was conveyed during a phone call in which Macron voiced support for the deal and stressed it must be implemented in ways that guarantee Syria's unity and sovereignty.
Macron also pledged French coordination to help Syria move toward stability, justice and reconstruction.
Pact security provisions
Security provisions in the pact are detailed across multiple reports.
It establishes a comprehensive ceasefire and mutual pullbacks from front lines.
The pact creates a new military formation drawn from three SDF brigades, with a separate Kobani/Ain al-Arab brigade affiliated to Aleppo governorate.
It provides for phased, individual integration of SDF fighters into government forces after security checks.
Several accounts state Interior Ministry units will enter al-Hasakah and Qamishli.
Local security bodies are to be merged into state structures.
The agreement was announced after a government offensive that recaptured much SDF-held territory.
Both sides described implementation as immediate, while observers warned that practical questions remain.
International reactions to accord
International reaction to the accord has been mixed but was largely supportive in diplomatic language.
“U.S. envoy Tom Barrack called an agreement between Damascus and the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) 'a profound and historic milestone.'”
U.S. envoy Tom Barrack hailed the agreement as a historic milestone.
France offered help to implement the deal, and Syrian state media described it as a step toward reunifying territory and reconstruction.
Western and regional outlets highlighted wider geopolitical moves that enabled the accord, including warming ties between Damascus and some Arab states and Russia's continuing military footprint.
They also noted political consolidation by interim President Ahmed al‑Sharaa, who has used the agreement to strengthen Damascus's position.
Pact on Kurdish rights
The pact includes concrete guarantees for Kurds reported in multiple outlets, including recognition of Kurdish alongside Arabic as a national language and making Nowruz an official holiday.
It also includes annulment of the 1962 denaturalization measures in al-Hasakeh and promises on civil and educational rights and the return of displaced people.
State media and several international outlets frame these measures as confidence-building concessions intended to facilitate reintegration of institutions and employees into state bodies.
Kurdish political leaders and local communities have expressed mixed reactions.
Unresolved peace deal issues
Significant uncertainties remain: observers and multiple outlets warned the deal leaves key practical issues unresolved, including command arrangements, border crossings, detainees, the fate of all-female units, and prisons/camps, and they warned that implementation could be chaotic.
“The shift immediately affects thousands in camps: Roj holds about 2,300 people from roughly 50 countries and Al-Hol about 24,000 (mostly Syrian and Iraqi, many women and children linked to IS). Rights groups report dire conditions, violence and protection failures...”
Reporting flagged immediate humanitarian and security concerns in camps and prisons as control shifted, and some sources described the deal as more a holding truce than a fully worked-out settlement.
Analysts and regional coverage pointed to the role of external actors (U.S., France, Russia, Turkey) in shaping both the pact and its prospects, while many outlets urged close international monitoring to ensure rights and safety for civilians and detainees.