Syria, US-Backed Kurdish Group Sign Deal to End Fighting

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(Bloomberg) — Syria’s government and a US-backed Kurdish group agreed to end their clashes, with a new deal expanding the regime’s control over vital territories and resources, including oil and gas fields.

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The agreement renews a commitment to integrate the Syrian Democratic Forces with the state, after government forces pushed the SDF out of multiple areas in eastern Syria. A previous deal signed in March to integrate the group did little to unify both sides, which have been repeatedly embroiled in deadly battles ever since.  

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According to the new agreement, a ceasefire comes in effect immediately and all troops affiliated to the SDF will retreat east of the Euphrates River, the state-run Syrian Arab News Agency reported. The Kurdish-led group will also relinquish authority in the eastern provinces of Raqqa, Deir Ezzor and Hasakah to the government and military. 

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The deal puts the government in charge of border crossings as well as gas and oil fields. On Saturday, the state-owned Syrian Petroleum Co. said it took over Rusafa and Safyan oil fields in Raqqa. Reuters also reported the military took control of the Omar oil field, Syria’s largest, and the Conoco gas field. 

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Syria’s Energy Ministry said the military also took control of the Euphrates hydroelectric dam, whose combined power generation capacity stands at 880 megawatts. Finance Minister Mohammed Yisr Barnieh said that seizing hydrocarbon, agricultural and water resources bodes well for the state budget and reconstruction efforts in the war-torn country. 

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The SDF were pushed out of Raqqa’s countryside, the eastern countryside of Aleppo and Deir Ezzor, Sana reported on Sunday. The PKK, a Kurdish militant group, was also kicked out of Tabqa, where the Syrian military seized a jail facility west of Raqqa. The agreement stipulates the SDF will ensure that all PKK members leave Syria, without determining a time-line.

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In a meeting with the US ambassador to Syria, Tom Barrack, in Damascus, President Ahmed al-Sharaa reiterated his vision of a unified Syria and the importance of dialogue. The Syrian leader, who once led an affiliate of al-Qaeda before renouncing his allegiance to the group in 2016, assumed power last year shortly after a swift uprising that deposed long-time dictator Bashar al-Assad in December 2024. 

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The US commended the Syrian government and the SDF for their “constructive efforts in reaching today’s ceasefire agreement, paving the way for renewed dialogue and cooperation toward a unified Syria,” Barrack said.

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The American administration “looks forward to the seamless integration of our historic partner in the fight against ISIS with the Global Coalition’s newest member, as we press forward in the enduring battle against terrorism,” Barrack said, referring to a military campaign against the Islamic State in Syria.

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