NORTHEAST SYRIA — There have been momentous changes in Syria since the overthrow of the Assad regime on Dec. 8, and the establishment of an interim government under President Ahmad al-Sharaa, who until recently led the extremist Sunni rebel faction Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS). Over the past four months, Sharaa has unveiled a new draft constitution and installed a new cabinet, which many Syrians say fails to live up to his pledges of building a new Syria that will be inclusive, democratic and just. The horrendous wave of violence that unfolded in the Alawite coastal region last month has added to fears that the country could yet descend into civil conflict again. 

Yet in a surprise development Sharaa signed a landmark agreement with Mazlum Kobane, the commander in chief of the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), on March 10 for Kurdish civilian and military institutions to be integrated with Damascus.

Many believe such a deal would not have been possible unless Sharaa’s close ally Turkey had given its blessing.

Turkey’s air attacks against the SDF have since ceased. Fierce clashes between the SDF and Turkish-supported Sunni factions have also subsided near the Tishreen dam, paving the way for an agreement between the SDF and Damascus for control of the dam. In a two hour long exclusive interview at a military base in northeast Syria that was held on April 8, Kobane chose his words extremely carefully as he briefed Al-Monitor on the state of play.