During the Middle East Peace and Security Forum (MEPS 2025), Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) Commander-in-Chief Mazloum Abdi underlined that Kurdish President Masoud Barzani has played a vital role in encouraging unity among the Kurdish parties in Syria “and we hope for more support.”

“Southern Kurdistan (Kurdistan Region of Iraq), namely Sulaymaniyah and Erbil, have stood firmly by us for the past 15 years. President Barzani has especially supported Western Kurdistan (northern Syria),” Abdi said.

Furthermore, he added that the Kurdish Peshmerga and SDF forces played a major role in defeating ISIS. “Kurds can be a political factor for prosperity, peace, and security in the Middle East,” he stated. 

Read More: President Barzani Discusses Kurdish Unity with SDF Chief 

On January 16, President Masoud Barzani received SDF Commander-in-Chief Abdi, underlining the importance of Kurdish unity in Syria to secure Kurdish rights in Damascus. 

Furthermore, in the same month, President Barzani sent his representative Hamid Darbandi to northeast Syria, where Darbandi met with SDF officials, and the leadership of the Kurdish National Council, an umbrella organization composed of various Syrian Kurdish parties.

In April, the Kurdish Unity and Solidarity Conference took place in Syria, and the participants agreed to form a joint Kurdish delegation to hold talks with Damascus.

During the MEPS Forum on Tuesday, Kurdish President Masoud Barzani expressed support for the ongoing peace process that has begun in Turkey between the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) and the Turkish government. “We will continue to do so. We also hope that they achieve the goals that serve the interests of all sides.

“Likewise, a golden opportunity has emerged for Syria as well. We hope that the Kurds and all components of Syria, together with the current government, can once again resolve their issues peacefully and democratically,” he underlined.

“The Kurdistan Democratic Party, Barzani’s network of regional relations with Turkey, and, indirectly, the de facto administration in Damascus can help Syrian Kurds navigate the challenging circumstances they’re facing,” Mohammed Salih, a senior fellow at the U.S.-based Foreign Policy Research Institute, earlier told Kurdistan Chronicle.

Abdi on Wednesday also underlined that the SDF will now focus on dialogue after the fall of the Assad regime, and expressed hope that the SDF-Damascus integration agreement reached on March 10 will be implemented at the end of year.

“The loss of dialogue was a major reason for the fall of Bashar al-Assad, and we chose dialogue to solve the problems in Syria,” he said.

Abdi also said that the ongoing peace process in Turkey represents a new opportunity. “It’s a new opportunity for the Middle East. We in Western Kurdistan support this peace process.”