Iraqi Kurdish leader in Damascus for talks on Syria Kurds' deal

Syria's President Ahmed al-Sharaa met Monday with Nechirvan Barzani, leader of Iraq's autonomous Kurdistan region, as official sources told AFP the talks aimed to advance an integration deal between Damascus and Syria's Kurds.

Syrian state news agency SANA said Sharaa received Barzani at the presidential palace in Damascus, in the first visit by the head of Iraq's Kurdistan region since the December 2024 ouster of longtime Syrian ruler Bashar al-Assad.

After clashes between Syrian Kurdish fighters and the new authorities' forces in January this year, the two sides reached a deal to integrate Syrian Kurdish institutions and forces into the state.

During the fighting, Barzani met Kurdish leader Mazloum Abdi, chief of the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Force (SDF), in Kurdistan's Erbil in a US-backed meeting.

Sharaa's office said he and Barzani on Monday discussed "strengthening cooperation and coordination, especially economic... in a way that contributes to supporting security and stability".

A Syrian official source told AFP on condition of anonymity that the pair would discuss the January deal and "procedures for integrating" the SDF into the state.

A Syrian diplomatic source, also requesting anonymity, told AFP that the one-day visit would mainly deal with "following up on the agreement between the state and the SDF".

Barzani may also meet Abdi, the diplomatic source added.

The January fighting and subsequent accord shattered Kurdish aspirations for autonomy in swathes of north and northeast Syria which they had controlled for years during the country's civil war, after battles against the Islamic State jihadist group.

Damascus and the Kurdish authorities have taken several steps since the deal, including the entry of government forces into the cities of Hasakeh and Qamishli, and transfer of management of Qamishli airport and key oil fields to the state.

Senior Kurdish military official Sipan Hamo was appointed regional assistant defence minister.

But differences between the sides have held up the integration of several SDF brigades into the Syrian army.

The agreement also provided for the return of displaced Syrian Kurds to their areas of origin, though some are still waiting to go back.

Barzani at the time welcomed the January deal and expressed hope it would pave the way for the "protection of the rights of the Kurds... in the forthcoming constitution".