US envoy to Syria, Thomas Barrack, said the country may need to consider alternatives to a strongly centralized state.
According to The Washington Post, Barrack told reporters last month that what Syria needs is not federalism, but something less, an arrangement that allows everyone to preserve their unity, culture, and language “without any threat from political Islam,” as he put it.
Barrack added that everyone familiar with the Syrian file believes things need to proceed in a more rational manner.
In its August 23 report, the American newspaper noted that widespread violence across Syria is fueling minority demands for autonomy, pointing out that the main conflict now lies in the tense relationship between the Damascus government and the US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF).
The paper said that transitional president Ahmad al-Sharaa seeks a centralized state led from Damascus, similar to the structure Syria had before it fractured during the conflict, warning that renewed waves of violence threaten these plans.
It concluded that conditions in Syria are worsening instead of improving as Syrians had hoped after the fall of the Assad regime on December 8, 2024.
Two main regions remain outside the authority of the central government in Damascus: the northeast, where the US-backed SDF demands decentralization, and Suwayda in the south, where voices are growing louder in calling for “independence” from Syria.
The Syrian government does not reject all forms of decentralization, according to Qutaiba Idlibi, Director of American Affairs at the Syrian Foreign Ministry. In an interview, he explained that the state’s current approach to governance, especially local administration, is largely based on decentralization, particularly administrative decentralization.
Idlibi added, “I don’t think there is truly any debate or disagreement regarding administrative decentralization. Syria’s problem with centralization was never legal, but political.”
Autonomous Administration rejects parliamentary elections
On August 24, the Autonomous Administration in northeastern Syria issued a statement rejecting the parliamentary elections in the country, describing them as “a formal step unrelated to democracy and not representing the will of Syrians in any way.”
According to the statement, the ongoing electoral process excludes nearly half of Syrians due to forced displacement and systematic policies preventing active components from taking part in shaping the country’s future, confirming that the elections do not meet the requirements of a comprehensive political solution.
The statement responded to the announcement by the Supreme Electoral Committee the previous day that elections would be postponed in three provinces: Raqqa and Hasakah (where the SDF, the Administration’s military arm, holds control), and Suwayda.
The Autonomous Administration also rejected labeling northeastern Syria as “unsafe” to justify exclusionary policies, insisting these areas are “safer than many other parts of Syria.”
It stressed that any unilateral decisions or measures would not be binding on the peoples and regions of northeastern Syria, calling on the international community and the United Nations not to recognize the elections, which it described as “contrary to UN Resolution 2254.”
The statement concluded that “the solution in Syria will not come through reproducing old policies, but through a comprehensive political process involving all Syrians, with their diverse components and free will, leading to a democratic, pluralistic, and decentralized Syria that guarantees rights and opens prospects for peace and stability.”
US–Druze meeting to contain tensions
Earlier, Barrack held a meeting with Sheikh Mowafaq Tarif, the spiritual leader of the Druze community in Israel, to discuss developments in Suwayda province (southern Syria), ways to ease tensions, and to prevent the situation from sliding into broader confrontations.
Barrack described the meeting as “cordial and productive,” stressing that the US continues to work with all local and regional partners to promote stability and de-escalation, with a focus on protecting civilians and respecting local balances, according to a post on his account on X.
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