Kurdish-led SDF will join Syrian army if federal state guaranteed: Rojava official

The Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) have no problem joining the Syrian army if a federal state is awarded to the Kurds in northern Syria.

ERBIL, Kurdistan Region (Kurdistan Region) – The Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) have no problem joining the Syrian army if a federal state is awarded to the Kurds in northern Syria, a senior Rojava official said on Sunday.

Rezan Gilo, the joint chief of defense in Syrian Kurdistan (Rojava), told Kurdistan 24 the SDF, which is led by the Kurdish People’s Protection Units (YPG), would consider joining the Syrian army.

“There is no problem for our forces to join the Syrian army if a new Syrian constitution is drafted on a federal basis and the rights of all the Syrian components are reserved,” Gilo stated.

In an earlier interview, the joint president of the Syrian Democratic Council, Riad Derar, said that when a political settlement is achieved in Syria, the SDF would join the Syrian army.

“If our plans to form a federal state [in northern Syria] are accepted, then our forces will join the Syrian national army,” Derar told the media.

Analysts believe if the SDF ever join the national army, it would be under American supervision and guidance.

The self-administration in Rojava controls most of the Kurdish areas in northern Syria through the YPG, a pillar of the US-backed SDF which has achieved great victories against the Islamic State (IS).

However, due to Turkey’s objections—who view the YPG as an offshoot of the banned Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK)—the US may consider pulling its support for the Kurds in Syria.

On Sunday, Turkish Prime Minister Binali Yildirim echoed his governments hopes that Washington would end its partnership with the Kurdish forces battling IS.

“Our expectation is that [the US] ends this partnership in no time and returns to its true ally [Turkey],” he said during a press conference in Istanbul.

The Turkish PM added that since IS was about to be eradicated in Syria, the US was no longer “obliged” to support the YPG.