Syria, SDF Near U.S.-Backed Military Deal

A U.S.-sponsored military agreement between the Syrian government and the SDF terrorist group is approaching formal announcement, according to a source cited by Syria TV on Dec. 25, 2025. 

Washington is applying what the source described as “significant pressure” on both sides to finalize the deal before the end of the year, with signing expected in Damascus between Dec. 27 and Dec. 30, 2025. 

The agreement builds on a prior accord signed on March 10, 2025, aimed at folding SDF structures into Syria’s state institutions.

The talks are framed as a time-bound process. 

A source within the SDF said the United States, alongside Britain, France, and Germany, has backed the March 10 agreement from its inception and continues to push for implementation before year-end. 

Diplomatic teams from the U.S. State Department, the British envoy, and the French envoy in northeastern Syria are involved in narrowing remaining gaps.

At the core of the agreement is the integration of approximately 90,000 personnel from the SDF and its internal security arm, the Asayish, into Syria’s Ministries of Defense and Interior. 

According to the source, the sides have agreed in principle to allocate three military divisions composed of SDF militans, operating under the Syrian Ministry of Defense in Raqqa, Deir ez-Zor, and Hasakah.

However, the structure of command remains contested. 

Outstanding issues include the mechanism for military decision-making, the administrative hierarchy of the SDF-designated divisions, and the distribution of authority between those divisions and the central defense and interior ministries. Another unresolved point is whether Syrian government forces will be allowed to deploy into northeastern Syria.

The SDF is pushing for the creation of two specialized brigades: a women’s brigade under separate leadership reporting to the Ministry of Defense, and a counterterrorism brigade. 

The latter proposal is backed by Washington, which sees it as a vehicle for joint operations against the ISIS. 

The SDF also opposes the entry of Syrian army or internal security forces into its areas and has proposed appointing commanders of its choosing within state security institutions.

Under the current discussions, SDF and Asayish ringleaders would be assigned to official posts within the defense and interior ministries to oversee militant divisions and security forces in northeastern Syria.

Despite progress, the source said full implementation is unlikely before year-end, necessitating a minimum three-month extension of the March 10 agreement due to operational complexity.

The March 10, 2025 agreement—signed by Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa and SDF ringleader Mazloum Abdi—stipulated that integration into the Syrian army and state institutions be completed before the end of 2025. 

While the current military agreement is described as having reached an “advanced stage,” both sides acknowledge that reactivating full state institutions in northeastern Syria “may take some time.”

The negotiations underscore a broader trade-off between restoring centralized state authority and accommodating SDF demands over force composition, command autonomy, and territorial control. 

With fewer than seven days remaining in the year, the process is now operating under a compressed political and diplomatic clock.