U.S. President Donald Trump said Tuesday he had a “great conversation” with Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa, signaling confidence in U.S.-brokered efforts aimed at securing a durable cease-fire and political roadmap between Damascus and the terrorist YPG-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF).
“I had a great conversation with the highly respected president of Syria,” Trump told reporters before departing the White House for Iowa, adding that developments in Syria and the surrounding region were “working out very, very well.”
Washington has been conducting shuttle diplomacy in an effort to bridge differences between al-Sharaa’s government and the YPG, which the U.S. previously backed in the fight against Daesh but now seeks to reintegrate into a broader political framework.
The YPG is the Syrian offshoot of the PKK terrorist group, which has waged a decadeslong campaign that killed over 40,000 people in Türkiye, Syria and Iraq.
Earlier in January, clashes that broke out between the YPG and government forces ended with a fragile cease-fire deal announced on Jan. 18, and government forces regained large areas occupied by the YPG. The deal stipulates the YPG’s integration into the Syrian army, the return of oil wells and camps holding Daesh detainees.
The YPG had previously failed to implement a March 10, 2025, agreement with the government that called for equal rights for the Kurdish component and the integration of civil and military institutions into the state, insisting on decentralized rule and its self-styled autonomy in the northeast. Damascus has since issued a special decree guaranteeing the cultural, linguistic and civil rights of Kurdish Syrians.
Trump also said “very good things” were happening in negotiations aimed at ending Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Without giving details, he said U.S.-brokered talks between Russian and Ukrainian delegations in Abu Dhabi last weekend had made encouraging progress.
“So, we’re very happy about it,” he said, noting that Washington would continue to facilitate dialogue on both fronts.
