The leader of Iraq's Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) Nechirvan Barzani met Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa on Monday, marking the first such visit by a KRG leader to post-Assad Syria. Sources told Agence France-Presse (AFP) that the talks focused on the integration agreement between Damascus and the YPG, the Syrian wing of the PKK terrorist group, which has operated a de facto autonomous enclave in Syria.
Syrian state news agency SANA said al-Sharaa received Barzani at the Presidential Palace in Damascus.
The YPG and the security forces of Syria's new administration clashed last January after the terrorist group reneged on an agreement to integrate into Syria's new state institutions. The group later reached a new agreement with Damascus following further advances by Syrian security forces. Amid the clashes, Barzani received Ferhat Abdi Şahin, the leader of the YPG, in the KRG regional capital of Irbil during a U.S.-backed meeting.
Al-Sharaa's office said he and Barzani discussed "strengthening cooperation and coordination, especially in the economic sphere ... in a way that contributes to supporting security and stability."
The Syrian president and Barzani first met on April 11, 2025, on the sidelines of the Antalya Diplomacy Forum in Türkiye. They met again on April 17, 2026, during the fifth edition of the Antalya Diplomacy Forum.
A Syrian official, speaking to AFP on condition of anonymity, said the two leaders would discuss the January agreement and "procedures for integrating" the YPG into the state. A Syrian diplomatic source, also speaking on condition of anonymity, told AFP that the one-day visit would mainly focus on "following up on the agreement between the state and the YPG." Barzani may also meet Şahin, the diplomatic source added.
The January fighting and the subsequent agreement shattered the YPG's aspirations for autonomy across swathes of northern and northeastern Syria that it had controlled for years during the country's civil war.
Damascus and the YPG have taken several steps since the agreement, including the deployment of government forces to the cities of Hasakeh and Qamishli and the transfer of the management of Qamishli Airport and key oil fields to the state.
Senior YPG member Sipan Hamo was appointed regional assistant defense minister.
However, differences between the two sides have delayed the integration of several YPG units into the Syrian army.
The agreement also provided for the return of displaced Syrian Kurds to their areas of origin, although some are still waiting to return. Barzani welcomed the agreement at the time and expressed hope that it would pave the way for "the protection of the rights of the Kurds ... in the forthcoming constitution."
