As the Syrian regime continues to make advances in the country's south and expand the area it controls, government forces have deployed soldiers along the border with Jordan near Daraa province and the Golan Heights in Quneitra. Meanwhile, signs indicate that there is rapprochement between Damascus and the opposition's political and military components in northern and eastern Syria (east of the Euphrates River), where the US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) are in control.

At its third conference in Tabqa city in the northern province of Raqqa on July 16, the Syrian Democratic Council announced the establishment of a comprehensive platform labeled the “Democratic Autonomous Administrations.” The platform will represent the autonomous administrations of the SDF-controlled areas in potential future talks with the Syrian regime.

The Syrian Democratic Council is an alliance of political parties and blocs founded Dec. 8-9, 2015. It is the political wing of the US-backed SDF, which is still fighting the remaining groups affiliated with the Islamic State (IS) in eastern Syria on the border with Deir ez-Zor. 

There are signs that practical measures to open communication channels between some autonomous administrations and the Syrian regime are being taken. On July 13, a co-chair of the Syrian Democratic Council, Ilham Ahmed, told the local Hawar news agency that there are talks between the local council of SDF-controlled Tabqa and the regime to improve services and to restore the regime’s powers over the Tabqa dam.