The US special envoy to Syria, Tom Barrack, is expected to meet with the commander in chief of the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), Mazlum Kobane, in Erbil on Saturday, part of a concerted US effort to avert a full blown conflict between Syrian government forces and the Kurdish-led group, several well placed sources briefing Al-Monitor on condition of anonymity said.
Nechirvan Barzani, the president of the Kurdistan Region of Iraq, helped to broker Saturday’s encounter, the sources said. Barzani, who is trusted by Washington and the SDF alike, also has close relations with Turkey, a key stakeholder.
The meeting comes against the backdrop of threats by Syria’s interim government to attack towns in the north and east held by the SDF after ousting Kurdish fighters from two majority Kurdish neighborhoods in Aleppo last week. Any further conflagration would likely blow up the March 10 agreement signed last year between Kobane and Syria’s interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa. The accord set the parameters for the integration of the civilian and military arms of the Kurdish-led autonomous administration that controls the northern and eastern third of the country.
A lasting agreement between Damascus and the SDF is seen as essential to stabilizing Syria after more than 14 years of conflict.
A spokesperson for Barrack’s office declined to comment on the envoy’s schedule.
This is a developing story and will be updated.
