ERBIL, Kurdistan Region of Iraq – Syria, France, and the United States released a joint statement on Friday following a high-level meeting in Paris, agreeing that it is imperative to support political transition and national reconciliation in Syria.

Syrian Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shaibani, his French counterpart Jean-Noel Barrot, and US Special Envoy for Syria Thomas Barrack gathered in the French capital for what was “a very frank and productive meeting,” according to the statement.

All sides emphasized the need to “engage quickly on substantial efforts to ensure the success of Syria’s transition and the unity, stability, sovereignty, and territorial integrity of Syria.”

The statement also referenced the need to support Damascus’ “efforts aimed at national reconciliation and cohesion, especially in northeastern Syria and Suwayda,” referring to relations between the central government and Kurdish and Druze populated regions of the country, respectively.

A recent wave of violence pitting members of the Druze religious minority against Bedouin tribespeople, with the latter being widely alleged to have been supported by Syrian security forces, has left 1,386 dead since July 13, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR) reported on Friday.

The joint statement referenced the outcry caused by multiple massacres since the transitional government took power, saying that there is a need to “hold perpetrators of violence accountable” and to “welcome the outcomes of transparent reports,” referencing a recent investigation by the Syrian government into the mass killings of Alwaites along the Syrian coast in March.

The trio also expressed the importance of holding talks between the Syrian government and the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) “as soon as possible” to discuss the implementation of the March 10 agreement, which laid the groundwork for the SDF’s integration into the Syrian national military.

SDF Commander-in-Chief Mazloum Abdi and other representatives of the Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria (AANES) were set to meet with Syrian officials in Paris on Thursday; however, the meeting was abruptly canceled without a reason being given.

Outlets affiliated with the Syrian government claimed that the visit was disrupted after French authorities allegedly denied entry to Mazloum Abdi, commander of the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), upon his arrival at a French airport. Abdi was reportedly not allowed to leave the plane and was sent back to Erbil shortly after landing due to the fact that he was traveling on an Iraqi passport.

 The joint statement also highlighted the salience of continued counterterrorism cooperation and the need “to strengthen the capacity of the Syrian government to deal with security challenges through the institutions of the state.”

 US Central Command (CENTCOM) announced Friday that it had killed a senior Islamic State (ISIS) leader along with two of his sons in a raid in northwestern Syria’s al-Bab city, highlighting the ongoing efforts to counter the group’s remnants in Syria years after its territorial defeat.