ERBIL, Kurdistan Region of Iraq - A top Kurdish official in northeastern Syria said Thursday that a meeting between the Syrian government and the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) could happen later this month, while reiterating that authorities of the Kurdish enclave reject a centralized government in Damascus.

Speaking at the ninth edition of the Sulaimani Forum held at the American University of Iraq, Sulaimani, Ilham Ahmed, co-chair of the Foreign Relations Department of the Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria (AANES), stated that Kurdish forces will be "strategic partners" in the new Syria but also expressed concerns regarding minority rights under the current administration.

Syria's Interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa and SDF chief Mazloum Abdi in early March signed a landmark agreement to officially integrate the Kurdish-led forces and all other institutions in northeast Syria into the Syrian state institutions.

The eight-point agreement between the two leaders was reached after months of deliberation and negotiations.

The SDF currently controls the bulk of the northeastern and eastern regions of Syria, amounting to a quarter of the territory of the country. Formed in 2015, the SDF is strongly backed by the US and is considered the Kurdish de facto army in Syria.

The Kurdish authorities in Syria have repeatedly criticized the new Damascus authorities for marginalizing minority groups and concentrating power in the hands of those close to the ruling authorities, saying they would reject centralization.

“The Druze reject the new Syrian government. The Alawites reject the new Syrian government… The majority of the Syrians demand a decentralized government,” said Ilham Ahmed on the second day of the Sulaimani Forum at a panel titled 'Northeast Syria and Implications for the Region.'

Ahmed added that the ruling Kurdish authorities of northeastern Syria were in the early stages of negotiations with the Syrian government, but “we have our terms and seek inclusive governance.”

“We consider ourselves as strategic partners in the new Syria,” she said, adding that the new Syrian constitution must "safeguard the rights of all ethnic and religious groups."

The semi-autonomous Kurdish enclave is protected by local police, the People’s Protection Units (YPG), and the Women’s Protection Units (YPJ), which later became part of the SDF.

Turkey considers the YPG, which is the backbone of the SDF, as inextricably linked to the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK); however, the YPG insists that it merely subscribes to similar ideology.

“I want to describe him [PKK founder Abdullah Ocalan] as having an ideological relationship with us. This relationship is a principle and guidance to organize our cultural and social life,” Ahmed said.

The PKK is an armed group that has fought for increased Kurdish rights in Turkey for decades. The group is designated a terrorist organization by Ankara.