Syrian transitional president Ahmad al-Sharaa and the commander of the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), Mazloum Abdi, held a meeting in Damascus on Tuesday, October 7.

The meeting, confirmed by Agence France-Presse (AFP) on X citing a government source, is the second of its kind since March.

According to AFP, two sources said the meeting was attended by the U.S. envoy to Syria Thomas Barrack, and the commander of U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) Brad Cooper.

The Autonomous Administration’s delegation, according to the pro-Administration Hawar news agency, included Mazloum Abdi and SDF leaders Ilham Ahmed and Rohilat Afrin.

Syrian Defense Minister Murhaf Abu Qasra said on X that he met with Abdi in Damascus, and that “a comprehensive ceasefire was agreed upon across all fronts and military positions in northern and northeastern Syria, to be implemented immediately.”

The development follows heavy clashes between the SDF and the Syrian army in the Sheikh Maqsoud and Ashrafiyeh neighborhoods of Aleppo (northern Syria).

Fighting in those neighborhoods has now fully stopped after both sides reached a ceasefire agreement, the state-run al-Ikhbariyah TV reported on Tuesday, October 7.

Earlier, on October 4, the Syrian Foreign Minister refused to meet an SDF delegation, explaining that “no appointment had been scheduled in the first place,” and that the delegation’s arrival in Damascus had not been coordinated with the relevant authorities, a government source told Enab Baladi.

Stalled March 10 Agreement and Kurdish Objections

The U.S.-brokered March 10 agreement stipulated that the Syrian government would assume control of oil, gas, and electricity resources in the northeast, and that the SDF would be integrated into the Syrian army. The deal stalled after the Autonomous Administration rejected the constitutional declaration issued by President al-Sharaa, saying it “does not adequately protect minority rights.”

The Syrian government responded to the “Unity of Position Conference of Northeastern Syria Components” by suspending negotiations with the SDF that had been planned to take place in Paris.

In a September 13 interview with the state-run al-Ikhbariyah TV, President al-Sharaa said that progress had been made in the negotiations with the SDF but acknowledged a degree of “obstruction or slow implementation of the agreement.”

He added that the deal was originally scheduled to be implemented by the end of the year and that Damascus had aimed to activate its provisions by the end of December.

Abdulwahhab Khalil, a member of the SDF Council, told Reuters that the Kurdish leadership supports integration with Damascus “on the basis of genuine partnership and constitutional recognition of all Syria’s components,” noting that “military integration alone is not enough.”