Iraqi Kurdish regional leader meets Syrian president
Aug 04, 2026
Damascus [Syria], August 4: Nechirvan Barzani, president of Iraq's semiautonomous Kurdish region, has held talks with Syrian President Ahmed Al-Sharaa, in the first visit by a Kurdish leader to Syria since the fall of ousted Syrian President Bashar Al-Assad.
On Monday, Barzani led a high-level delegation to Damascus, where he was received at the People's Palace. According to Syria's state news agency SANA, the two sides discussed bilateral relations between Erbil and Damascus, as well as several key regional issues of mutual concern to strengthen cooperation and coordination across various fields.
The visit to Syria's capital comes after months of diplomatic engagement between the Kurdistan Regional Government in Iraq and Syria's new administration. Barzani and Al-Sharaa previously met twice on the sidelines of the Antalya Diplomacy Forum, first on April 11, 2025, and again on April 17, 2026. According to a statement from the Kurdistan Region Presidency, the second meeting covered the development of economic ties and the agreement between the Syrian government and the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF).
The integration of the SDF into Syrian state institutions is a central focus of the talks.
The SDF, a Kurdish-led force that controls much of northeastern Syria, has been in negotiations with Damascus over its future status. The Syrian government has sought to integrate the force into its military structures, while Kurdish representatives have pressed for guarantees of political and cultural rights.
According to news reports from Al Hadath, Barzani and Al-Sharaa discussed mechanisms for entrenching the constitutional rights of Kurds in Syria, particularly language rights and administrative autonomy. Implementation of Decree No. 13, which pertains to Kurdish language rights, was also on the agenda. Syrian officials have expressed interest in benefitting from the Kurdistan Regional Government's experience in Kurdish-language education, curriculum development and teacher training.
Barzani's itinerary also includes meetings with Kurdish officials in Syria, including SDF commanders and Kurdish members of the Syrian parliament, according to Kurdish media reports.
Source: Qatar Tribune
