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The United States has renewed diplomatic efforts to prevent all-out conflict between Syria's new central authorities and the terrorist group YPG-led SDF, as sources reveal there has been more contact lately between the SDF and Israel, according to officials briefed on negotiations speaking to The National News on Wednesday.
Increased Israel-SDF contact comes as violence escalates between Damascus and the SDF, with Syrian authorities reporting weapons seizures and infiltration attempts in the past 72 hours.
"The State Department had basically shuttered its doors to the Kurds. Now they are open again," one source in Washington reportedly said.
The new U.S. approach involves less pressure on the SDF after American officials opposed the SDF's demands for a decentralized system of government in Syria. Washington has proposed bridging the gap over the government's insistence that the SDF disbands – the main sticking point between the two sides, sources said.
The Syrian government's attempt to take control of the mainly Druze province of Sweida, where Israel's military has been expanding its control, contributed to the U.S. change in stance towards the SDF and other minorities. However, many Druze do not want Israel to intervene on their behalf.
"They are listening to them more than before," the source said.
Officials from Washington have warned the terrorist group YPG-led SDF not to expect any tangible protection from Israel, despite increased contact between the SDF and Israel.
"Washington is still adamant that the SDF make substantive concessions," the source said, adding: "Israel cannot defend two minorities at the same time and will always choose the Druze first."
The U.S. reportedly expects the SDF ultimately to relinquish Arab areas under its control in the east and give up its monopoly on oil production in the area.
Ilham Ahmed, one of the ringleaders of the terrorist organization YPG/PKK, also a key SDF member, met two members of the U.S. Senate and House foreign relations committees in Amman on Sunday, a diplomat in the Jordanian capital told The National.
"The State Department was not far away from the discussions," said the diplomat, who was briefed on the meeting.
Scott Bolz, a senior American diplomat handling the SDF file, also met Ahmed in Jordan. Last week, Senator Jeanne Shaheen and Representative Joe Wilson met with Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa to discuss the fate of Syria's minority communities.
Meanwhile, U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) Commander Admiral Brad Cooper met with SDF ringleader Mazloum Abdi in Syria. The discussions centered on U.S. support for the SDF, counterterrorism cooperation, and the management of Daesh detainee camps and prisons.
The SDF occupies large parts of eastern Syria that produce most of Syria's power output, oil and gas, as well as wheat and other commodities.
The U.S. has reportedly proposed that the SDF partially join the new Syrian army, which means that al-Sharaa would advance his goal while SDF ringleader "Mazloum Abdi keeps a good chunk of the SDF and an open channel to al-Sharaa," the diplomat speaking to The National said.
A deal in March to integrate the SDF into the post-Assad state has stalled, mainly over the SDF's stance and refusal to disband itself and join the Syrian army.
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