DUBAI, UAE - The Kurdish-led administration in northeast Syria (Rojava) on Saturday welcomed a decree signed by Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa recognizing Kurds as an integral part of Syria, but said lasting rights cannot be guaranteed through temporary measures.

Sharaa on Friday signed decree No. 13 of 2026, affirming that Kurdish Syrians are “an essential and authentic component” of the Syrian people, and recognizing their cultural and linguistic identity as part of the country’s unified national fabric.

In a statement on Saturday, Rojava’s Democratic Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria (DAANES) said that rights “cannot be safeguarded through temporary decrees,” arguing that meaningful protections must be secured in a permanent, democratic constitution reflecting the will of all Syrian components.

While describing the decree as a possible “initial step,” the administration said it does not meet the aspirations of Syrians who, it said, made major sacrifices in pursuit of freedom, equality, and democratic governance.

Sharaa’s decree includes provisions recognizing Kurdish cultural and linguistic rights, designating Kurdish as a national language that may be taught in public and private schools in Kurdish-populated areas, abolishing the effects of the controversial 1962 census in Hasakah province, and granting Syrian nationality to previously stateless Kurds. It also declares March 21, the Kurdish New Year of Newroz, a nationwide paid public holiday.

The decree also commits state institutions to banning ethnic or language-based discrimination and calls for a unified national message, with penalties for inciting sectarian or ethnic tensions.

Despite these measures, the Kurdish-led administration reiterated its call for a comprehensive national dialogue and a decentralized democratic constitution, saying such a framework is the only way to ensure equal rights, genuine partnership and long-term stability in post-conflict Syria.

The administration stressed that Syria’s ethnic, religious and cultural diversity should be viewed as a source of strength, not division, and urged all Syrian political forces to engage in inclusive talks aimed at building a state based on citizenship, justice and social equality.

The development comes a week after violent clashes erupted between Syrian state-affiliated forces and the Kurdish-led security forces (Asayish) in Aleppo’s Kurdish quarters, lasting several days and claiming hundreds of lives.

SDF chief Mazloum Abdi late Friday announced that they have decided to withdraw from areas in eastern Aleppo, where clashes with Damascus-linked factions frequently took place, in a show of “good faith” in completing the integration process in accordance with the March 10 Agreement.

The implementation of the March 10 Agreements was long stalled by continued clashes between the two sides and disagreements on core governing principles, with the Kurdish authorities demanding a decentralized Syria while Damascus maintained its centralized stance.