• There is ‘no alternative to the March 10 agreement with the SDF,’ asserts minister
• ‘Syria’s position remains firm that Israel must withdraw from all areas it occupied after Dec. 8, 2024,’ says Mustafa
• Minister emphasizes that ‘Syria does not want to be a threat to the region in any form’
  
• Syria has gone from a ‘kingdom of fear’ to a ‘country with no one jailed over an opinion or a social media post,’ according to minister

DAMASCUS 

The March 10 agreement with the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) represents a historic opportunity for Syria’s unity and sovereignty, but the group is failing to honor its commitments, according to the country’s information minister.

In an interview with Anadolu for the first anniversary of the fall of the Assad regime, Hamza Mustafa said the SDF – which is dominated by the terrorist group YPG, the Syrian branch of the terrorist organization PKK – has made “a major mistake through irrational approaches.”

He said SDF commander Mazloum Abdi has misread the situation and “missed historic opportunities,” emphasizing that the issue of federalism and political decentralization is completely off the table.

There is “no alternative to the March 10 agreement with the SDF,” the minister asserted.

The deal was signed by Syrian President Ahmad al-Sharaa and Abdi with a view to integrating civilian and military institutions in the northeast under state administration. The accord covers border crossings, airports, and oil and gas fields, and affirms the unity of Syrian territory.

Mustafa said Abdi agreed to the deal, but the SDF failed to honor its commitments and seeks to stall and buy time.

He described the agreement as an “integration solution” presented to Abdi as a way out, given that there were two other possible scenarios: either a long-term US military presence in Syria, which he called impossible, or a withdrawal “in an Afghanistan-style scenario.”

“The state offered a middle option through the March 10 integration deal, which Abdi accepted but has not implemented,” he added.

The minister said that Damascus told Abdi that if he wants to abandon the agreement, he must state clearly whether he cannot implement it or does not wish to.

“The SDF behavior reflects an attempt to delay while waiting for changes, especially after recent events in Suwayda,” he said, accusing Abdi of using “orientalist language” when speaking about Druze and Alawites.

Suwayda saw armed clashes in July between Druze groups and Bedouin tribes that killed hundreds. Damascus insists it guarantees equal rights and freedoms for all Syrian communities.

The information minister said Abdi visited Erbil in Iraq’s Kurdish region in October instead of coming to Damascus to finalize the agreement, arguing that he “does not read politics clearly.”

Abdi is “trying to play his last game,” Mustafa said, reiterating that “there is no alternative to the March 10 agreement.”

He stressed that there are no secret clauses in the deal and that integration into political and military institutions will be on an individual basis, not as blocs.

The minister said Washington sees the Syrian state as the actor best placed to confront the ISIS (Daesh) terror group and a key pillar of regional stability.

Damascus “will not postpone all regional and international files for the sake of the SDF,” he stressed.

 ‘Israel must withdraw from all areas occupied after Dec. 8’

After the fall of the Assad regime, Israel expanded its occupation of the Syrian Golan Heights by seizing the demilitarized buffer zone, a move that violated the 1974 Disengagement Agreement with Syria.

Mustafa warned that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government is trying to drag countries into confrontations and create new facts on the ground to escape domestic political problems.

“Israel often miscalculates,” he said. “Syria’s position remains firm that Israel must withdraw from all areas it occupied after Dec. 8, 2024.”

He said the US also accepts Damascus’ stance and has been “trying to pressure Netanyahu on that issue, but the Israeli premier always tries to adopt a policy of running forward.”

US President Donald Trump this week urged Israel to maintain a “strong and true dialogue” with Syria, saying it is very important that “nothing takes place that will interfere with Syria’s evolution into a prosperous state.”

However, Netanyahu the next day renewed a call to turn southern Damascus into “a demilitarized zone,” which Syria strongly rejects.

On efforts for a new security agreement with Israel, Mustafa said Damascus will not accept any arrangement “less than the 1974 disengagement agreement in essence and substance.”

The “new Syria,” he added, seeks to invest in development and internal recovery rather than entering regional wars.

“Syria does not want to be a threat to the region in any form,” he said, noting that the country is exhausted by war and wants to rebuild its internal capacities.

The information minister said Damascus also rejects Israeli claims that it seeks to “protect the Druze” in southern Syria, accusing Israel of using the Druze community as a pretext to interfere in Syria’s internal affairs and continue its occupation.

Israel occupies Palestinian land and territory in Syria and Lebanon and refuses to withdraw or allow the establishment of an independent Palestinian state on pre-1967 borders.

Syria no longer a ‘kingdom of fear’

The Syrian information minister said the country has changed from a “kingdom of fear” where journalists were detained and killed to “a country with no one jailed over an opinion or a social media post.”

“There are no detained journalists in Syria today, except for one case still under investigation,” he added.

The minister said more than 700 journalists were killed during the uprising against Bashar al-Assad’s regime between 2011 and 2024.

He noted that more than 500 media outlets now operate in Syria, and the ministry has received about 3,000 applications for press cards.

“Authorities are processing the requests and issuing cards,” he said, adding that the country has also hosted hundreds of foreign delegations since early 2025.

Mustafa said the Information Ministry shifted from acting as a “censorship ministry” to becoming a ministry for media content production.

“The ministry now tries to work through all its teams to be effective and to play a leading role in content creation,” he added.

He said the Syrian government aims to develop journalism and has rebuilt the state-run Syrian Arab News Agency (SANA) on new foundations, and relaunched it in June.

The authorities also relaunched the newspaper Al-Thawra “as a platform that combines a print edition and a website,” he added.

The government further plans to relaunch Radio Damascus as a national broadcaster and to revive the Arab Advertising Organization, according to the minister.

“The ministry redefined that institution so it can operate as an advertising agency that generates profit … and helps redefine the advertising industry,” he said.

Mustafa said the Arab Advertising Organization is preparing a restructuring plan, in coordination with the private sector that will be announced soon.

Syria aims to be ‘a headquarters for media industry’

Mustafa said his ministry also wants to “localize” drama production inside Syria.

He said the country has already succeeded in attracting more than 25 television series slated to be filmed in Syria, a figure he noted is higher than in 2010.

“Our goal is to make Syria a headquarters for the media industry,” he said, adding that the state has already implemented two major strategic projects geared toward that aim.

Mustafa said the Information Ministry does not seek an interventionist role as much as it wants to “manage the media scene in a different way.”

He said the state plans to shift emphasis “from the national level to the local level,” noting that each province has communities with their own identities and that the goal is to produce media reflecting those local realities.

“The Information Ministry wants to integrate modern technology, especially artificial intelligence, into many aspects of television production, and to focus more on the Syrian individual and the younger generation, which is the future leadership of the country,” he said.