Raqqa, Northeast Syria – The Kurdish-led Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria (AANES) announced on Sunday its full readiness to integrate into Syria’s national institutions; but made clear this would only happen under a democratic framework that guarantees meaningful power-sharing and the rights of all communities.
In an official statement posted on Facebook, AANES described a political solution as its “strategic choice” for ending Syria’s conflict, which has dragged on for over a decade. The administration framed its recent talks with the Syrian government, attended by representatives from the United States and France, as a “highly significant step” toward launching a serious intra-Syrian dialogue.
AANES thanked Washington and Paris for their “constructive role” and ongoing support for stability, peace, and democracy in Syria, calling the meetings an “historic political achievement” in a country long divided by civil war and mutual distrust.
“The restoration of trust among Syrian actors has become a national necessity,” the statement read, emphasizing that overcoming deep divisions will require responsible dialogue, not “exclusionary rhetoric that threatens to tear apart the national fabric.”
The administration underscored its commitment to Syria’s territorial integrity, describing it as a “non-negotiable principle” and warning that exploiting this issue serves only those who wish to sabotage any chance of a political settlement.
Read also: PKK Fighters Destroy Weapons, Move Towards Peace
AANES reiterated its demand for a new democratic and pluralistic system in Syria, one that guarantees social justice, gender equality, and constitutional protections for all communities. It dismissed accusations of separatism as “deliberate distortions” of the region’s long struggle against authoritarian rule.
The statement argued that decades of centralized governance in Damascus have marginalized local communities and concentrated power and wealth in the hands of a few. It described its decentralized model as a real opportunity to build a modern Syrian state that treats all citizens equally, regardless of ethnicity, religion, or region.
AANES called on all Syrian actors to reject hate speech and violence, and to work together to protect the fragile Syrian dialogue from being derailed; urging them to build a civil, democratic state founded on partnership, dignity, and justice.
On Wednesday, senior figures from AANES and the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) , including SDF Commander-in-Chief Mazloum Abdi, the administration’s co-chair of foreign relations Ilham Ahmed, and officials Fawza Youssef and Abdul Hamid al-Mahbash, held talks with the Syrian government in Damascus.
According to Agence France-Presse (AFP), the discussions focused on four key issues: Syria’s future political system, the relationship between the central government and local administrations, the economic situation, and the status of military forces in the northeast.
