Abu Mohammad al-Jolani, head of Syria’s transitional phase, stated that Israel’s targeting of the presidential palace and the Syrian Ministry of Defense constitutes a declaration of war. However, he emphasized that reaching a security agreement with Israel is inevitable, even though Israel’s commitment to such an agreement remains questionable.
Regarding negotiations with Israel following the recent attack on Qatar, al-Jolani said, “If the question is whether I trust Israel, the answer is I do not.”
He clarified that Syria knows how to fight but no longer wants war, noting that the recent events in Sweida were a “deliberate trap” at a time when negotiations with Israel were nearing completion.
According to al-Jolani, U.S.-mediated talks with Israel are close to producing an agreement that may be signed within days, similar to the 1974 accord. He stressed that this “by no means implies normalization of relations or Syria joining the Abraham Accords.”
He described his upcoming participation in the UN General Assembly as a historic precedent, marking the first time in sixty years that a Syrian president has attended these meetings.
He emphasized that this represents a “new turning point,” adding that Syria has become part of the international system and is no longer a source of drugs, refugees, or terrorism.
He claimed that 90% of drug trafficking has ceased and that one million Syrian refugees have returned home, despite the reconstruction process not yet beginning.
Former Vice President Farouk al-Sharaa warned that failure to integrate the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) by the end of the year could prompt Turkey to take military action.
Al-Sharaa asserted that some factions within the SDF and the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) are obstructing the implementation of agreements.
He rejected the SDF’s demands for decentralization, explaining that Syrian Law No. 107 already guarantees 90% administrative decentralization, and described these demands as “a cover for separatist tendencies.”
Al-Jolani recalled his first meeting with Mazloum Abdi, saying, “If you came to demand Kurdish rights, there’s no need—my principle is that Kurds are equal Syrian citizens, and I care about their rights more than you do.”
According to Syrian TV, citing the Turkish newspaper Milliyet, the March 10 agreement marked the first U.S.- and Turkish-backed path toward a solution, but some factions within the SDF and PKK deliberately obstructed it.
He added that the SDF, which ignored Abdullah Öcalan’s call to dissolve itself, has become a threat to national security in Turkey and Iraq. He noted that Ankara previously refrained from launching military operations against it in response to Syrian efforts but hinted that Turkey’s patience may run out by year’s end if integration is not achieved.