WASHINGTON, DC - One year after the fall of Bashar al-Assad’s regime, the future of Syria and its fraught transitional phase remain a central topic of debate in Washington.
Policymakers and experts convened in the US capital on Wednesday to discuss Syria’s evolving landscape and Washington’s policy toward the country.
A key point of focus was the ongoing US mediation between Kurdish authorities and the Syrian government to form a unified Syrian army, an effort nearing its first anniversary but showing limited progress.
“Opinion is kind of divided within the US government,” said Charles Lister, Director of the Syria Initiative at the Middle East Institute. “Opinion is unified on the idea that there has to be integration, that’s clear. But the division of opinion is as to whether or not the US should be forcing forward that deal or just providing a space to talk. And I think we’ve had nine months of the US mediating, providing the space, being in the room. But in that nine months, nothing has changed.”
He added that frustration is mounting, particularly within the US military.
“They’re there on the ground and they’re seeing that tensions are rising and that this is becoming unsustainable. So [there is] increasing impatience that something has to change—this deal has to be implemented," he added.
In March, SDF commander Mazloum Abdi and Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa signed an agreement to integrate Rojava forces, but the deal has yet to move forward. Both Washington and Ankara have urged the SDF and Damascus to accelerate implementation.
“The US plays a major role, from the fall of the Assad regime until now, in negotiations between the Autonomous Administration and the SDF on one side, and the Syrian government on the other,” said Sinam Mohamad, the Syrian Democratic Council’s (SDC) representative in Washington.
Mohamad detailed: “This role is very important to guarantee the rights of those components living in northeastern Syria. This is an important issue."
The SDC is the political arm of the SDF.
Joining the event online, Admiral Brad Cooper, commander of US Central Command (CENTCOM), said the US military remains focused on three priorities in Syria: ensuring the lasting defeat of ISIS, supporting implementation of the March 10 agreement between the Kurds and Damascus, and increasing coordination with Syrian forces to stabilize the country.