The US special envoy to Syria, Tom Barrack, and the commander-in-chief of the Syrian Democratic Forces, Mazlum Kobane, met in Erbil on Thursday in a bid to revive dialogue between the Kurdish-led group and Damascus amid ongoing clashes.

In a post on X, Barrack said he was “honored” to meet the SDF leader and the Syrian Kurdish entity’s de facto foreign minister, Ilham Ahmed, saying that all the parties had agreed that “an essential first step is the full upholding of the current ceasefire, as we collectively identify and implement confidence building measures on all sides to foster trust and lasting stability.”

While he did not elaborate, well-placed sources with knowledge of the talks said both men were markedly less tense than during their last exchange in Damascus on Jan. 19 that took place in the presence of Syria’s interim president, Ahmed al-Sharaa. Kobane shared Barrack’s comments from his own X account, suggesting that the air had somewhat cleared.

A telephone call on Wednesday between Kobane and Syrian Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shibani went smoothly, two sources familiar with the negotiations told Al-Monitor. Neither of the sources, who spoke not for attribution, provided further details. Shibani is seen by the SDF as a hardliner. Hence,  the development signals a potential breakthrough.