Ilham Ahmed says claims of violating March 10 deal are false
QAMISHLI, Syria (North Press) – Ilham Ahmed, head of the Foreign Relations Department of the Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria (AANES), said on Thursday that accusations by Damascus that her administration failed to implement the March 10 agreement are “not true,” stressing that international parties are aware of this.
Speaking during a press conference held via Zoom and attended by North Press, Ahmed said: “The government’s claim that we did not implement the March 10 agreement is incorrect, and the international parties know this.”
She added: “All meetings with Damascus officials were held under American and French pressure on the government, and the international parties know that well.”
Ahmed stated that the Syrian government had refused to form a joint negotiation board, using the term “board” to refer to the proposed body, and that communication channels were cut several times before being restored through U.S. mediation.
She also referred to recent remarks attributed to Syrian President Ahmad al-Sharaa, saying: “His latest leaked statements mean a declaration of war against the Kurds,” noting that government forces had sent “large military reinforcements” to Dayr Hafir and Maskanah in the eastern countryside of Aleppo.
The AANES official warned against attempts to fuel ethnic tensions, saying: “There are attempts to create hostility between Kurds and Arabs, and these dangerous attempts must be prevented.”
Ahmed said the United States had given the Syrian transitional government “broad room to act,” adding that the U.S. Congress should monitor the conditions linked to lifting sanctions. She stated: “The transitional government imposed itself on Syria. They formed the government on their own, announced the constitution on their own, and the People’s Assembly as well.”
In the same context, she said the AANES maintains contacts with Washington and Ankara and has presented “several initiatives for de-escalation,” adding: “We are waiting for their response.” She also said that what occurred in the neighborhoods of Sheikh Maqsoud and Ashrafieh in Aleppo “was the result of international understandings.”
Ahmed concluded her remarks by calling on Arab countries “to help Syria prevent sliding into an internal war.”
The March 10 agreement, signed between President al-Sharaa and SDF Commander General Mazloum Abdi, sets out principles for dialogue and coordination on security and administrative issues. The Syrian Democratic Forces, backed by the U.S.-led coalition, remain the main security actor in northeast Syria, where they oversee stability and counterterrorism operations in coordination with AANES institutions.