Syria's leaders said on Sunday that Kurdish demands for the country to adopt a decentralized system of government in a post-Assad political order posed a threat to national unity.
"We clearly reject any attempt to impose a partition or create separatist cantons under the terms of federalism or self-autonomy without a national consensus," Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa's office said in a statement.
"The unity of Syrian territory and its people is a red line," the statement said.
Rival Syrian Kurdish parties, including the dominant faction in the Kurdish-run northeast, agreed at a meeting in Syria's Kurdish-controlled city of Qamishli on Saturday on a common political vision for Syria's Kurdish minority.
A communique at the end of the conference, which was attended by US officials, demanded that a future Syrian constitution should enshrine respect for Kurdish national rights in Syria after the ouster of Bashar al-Assad.
"A joint Kurdish political vision has been formulated that expresses a collective will and its project for a just solution to the Kurdish issue in Syria as a decentralized democratic state," the pan-Kurdish statement said.
The Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), backed by the US, last month signed a deal with Damascus on merging Kurdish-led governing bodies and security forces with the central government.
The Syrian presidency's statement also said recent statements by SDF leaders advocating a federal solution went clearly against that deal.
The agreement with the SDF could be a "constructive step forward if it was implemented with national spirit, away from narrow agendas," it continued.
It warned against obstructing state institutions in regions held by the SDF and against imposing a monopoly on resources. "The SDF leadership cannot take unilateral decisions in northeastern Syria. There can be no stability and no future without real partnership," it declared.
During the 14-year civil war, Kurdish-led groups took control of roughly a quarter of Syrian territory, where most of the country's oil wealth is found along with fertile arable land that produces a major proportion of the country's wheat.
Kurdish officials have objected to the way Syria's new rulers are shaping the transition from Assad's rule, saying they are failing to respect Syria's diversity despite promises of inclusivity.
The presidency statement stressed that "Kurdish rights are being protected under the one state, without the need for foreign intervention or hegemony." It called on the SDF to commit to the agreement reached in March and to prioritize national interests.
