Syrian Government, Kurdish Officials Discuss Merging Their Armed Forces

A handout picture released by the official Syrian Arab News Agency (SANA) shows Syria's interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa (R) and Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) commander-in-chief Mazloum Abdi signing an agreement, to integrate the SDF into the state institutions, in the Syrian capital Damascus on March 10, 2025. (SANA / AFP)
A handout picture released by the official Syrian Arab News Agency (SANA) shows Syria's interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa (R) and Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) commander-in-chief Mazloum Abdi signing an agreement, to integrate the SDF into the state institutions, in the Syrian capital Damascus on March 10, 2025. (SANA / AFP)
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Syrian Government, Kurdish Officials Discuss Merging Their Armed Forces

A handout picture released by the official Syrian Arab News Agency (SANA) shows Syria's interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa (R) and Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) commander-in-chief Mazloum Abdi signing an agreement, to integrate the SDF into the state institutions, in the Syrian capital Damascus on March 10, 2025. (SANA / AFP)
A handout picture released by the official Syrian Arab News Agency (SANA) shows Syria's interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa (R) and Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) commander-in-chief Mazloum Abdi signing an agreement, to integrate the SDF into the state institutions, in the Syrian capital Damascus on March 10, 2025. (SANA / AFP)

Government officials met Wednesday in the northeastern province of Hasakeh with the commander of the main Kurdish-led group in the country, the Syrian Democratic Forces, which is backed by the US.

The new Syrian government wants to bring Syria’s breakaway Kurdish militias back under government control, but the details of their recent breakthrough agreement are still being worked out and negotiators will have overcome a decade of civil war.

Wednesday’s meeting comes a week after Syria’s interim government signed a deal with the Kurdish-led authority that controls the country’s northeast, including a ceasefire and the merging of the SDF into the Syrian army.

The deal should be implemented by the end of the year. It would bring northeast Syria’s borders and lucrative oil fields under the central government’s control.



Palestinians Create Role for a Vice President and Possible Abbas Successor

Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas speaks during the 32nd Palestinian Liberation Organization (PLO) Central Council session in Ramallah on April 23, 2025. (Photo by Zain JAAFAR / AFP)
Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas speaks during the 32nd Palestinian Liberation Organization (PLO) Central Council session in Ramallah on April 23, 2025. (Photo by Zain JAAFAR / AFP)
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Palestinians Create Role for a Vice President and Possible Abbas Successor

Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas speaks during the 32nd Palestinian Liberation Organization (PLO) Central Council session in Ramallah on April 23, 2025. (Photo by Zain JAAFAR / AFP)
Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas speaks during the 32nd Palestinian Liberation Organization (PLO) Central Council session in Ramallah on April 23, 2025. (Photo by Zain JAAFAR / AFP)

The Palestine Liberation Organization on Thursday announced the creation of a vice presidency under 89-year-old leader Mahmoud Abbas, who has not specified a successor.
The PLO Central Council's decision came as Abbas seeks greater relevance and a role in postwar planning for the Gaza Strip after having been largely sidelined by the ongoing Israel-Hamas war.
After a two-day meeting, the council voted to create the role of vice chairman of the PLO Executive Committee. This position would also be referred to as the vice president of the State of Palestine, which the Palestinians hope will one day receive full international recognition.
The expectation is that whoever holds that role would be the front-runner to succeed Abbas — though it’s unclear when or exactly how it would be filled. Abbas is to choose his vice president from among the other 15 members of the PLO's executive committee.