Tarek Chouiref
22 January 2026•Update: 22 January 2026
ISTANBUL
US envoy Tom Barrack said Thursday that Washington is working with all parties to identify and implement confidence-building measures to foster trust and ensure lasting stability in Syria, stressing that full adherence to the current ceasefire between the Syrian government and the SDF group is the essential first step.
“We are working together to identify and implement confidence-building measures on all sides to foster trust and lasting stability,” Barrack said in a statement posted on the US social media company X after meeting SDF head Mazloum Abdi.
“The essential first step is the full upholding of the current ceasefire,” he added.
Barrack reaffirmed strong US support and commitment “to advancing the integration process outlined in the January 18 agreement between the Syrian Democratic Forces and the Syrian government.”
On Sunday, Syrian President Ahmad al-Sharaa announced a ceasefire agreement with the YPG/SDF terrorist group to integrate its members into state institutions.
Under the deal, the SDF will withdraw its military formations east of the Euphrates River and hand over administrative and security control of Raqqa and Deir ez-Zor provinces to the Syrian state.
The agreement also provides for the integration of SDF military and security personnel into the Syrian ministries of Defense and Interior following individual security vetting, as well as the transfer of border crossings, oil and gas fields, and civilian institutions to government control.
The deal followed a military operation launched by the Syrian Army, through which it regained wide areas in eastern and northeastern Syria after repeated violations by the SDF of earlier agreements signed with Damascus nearly a year ago
On Tuesday, the Defense Ministry announced a four-day ceasefire with the SDF. However, the group launched a series of attacks on Syrian positions on the first day of the truce, killing 11 soldiers and injuring 25 others.
