Selçuk Uysal
20 January 2026•Update: 20 January 2026
ISTANBUL
Talks that lasted five hours ended without results between Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa and Ferhat Abdi Sahin, the head of the YPG terror group operating under the SDF umbrella, according to government sources.
A government source told Anadolu that no agreement was reached Monday on the implementation of the March 10 understanding or the ceasefire and full integration agreement.
“The SDF side did not show the necessary flexibility in the meeting. New meetings will be held in the coming period,” said the source.
The discussions primarily focused on the status of Al-Hasakah province, located on the Iraqi border in northeastern Syria, according to a report published on the Telegram account of the Al Jazeera television network.
Sahin insisted that Al-Hasakah remain under the terror group’s control, while al-Shara conditioned it on the entry of internal security forces into the city and the takeover of state institutions.
When Sahin persisted in demanding full organizational control of the city, al-Sharaa responded that operations would continue in that case.
The report noted that al-Sharaa rejected Sahin’s request for an additional five days for consultations and demanded a final response by midnight Monday.
A source close to the government, speaking to Syria’s state television Al-Ikhbariya, also confirmed that the talks ended without results.
