A delegation from the Syrian Democratic Council (MSD) has called for increased support for democratic reform in Syria during political talks in the United Kingdom. In Liverpool, the delegation met with British Prime Minister Keir Starmer and Defense Secretary John Healey, among others, and delivered a message from Mazlum Abdi, commander-in-chief of the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF).
Mazlum Abdi called on the British government to take a more active role in rebuilding Syria and stabilizing the country. The MSD delegation was represented at the British Labour Party’s annual conference by the co-chair for public relations, Hassan Mohammed Ali.
Political talks with the government and parliament
In addition to meetings with government representatives, the delegation also held talks with several Labour Party MPs, including Sam Carling and Deirdre Costigan. The focus was on the so-called March 10 Agreement – an agreement between the Democratic Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria (DAANES) and the Syrian transitional government in Damascus. Among other things, this agreement covers the political participation of all population groups, the recognition of the Kurds as an indigenous population, the return of displaced persons, and the integration of institutions in North-East Syria into state structures.
In this context, Ali emphasized that Great Britain, as a diplomatic guarantor, could make a decisive contribution to securing this process internationally. “The choice facing Syria is clear: either a renewed descent into chaos, or the establishment of a democratic, pluralistic, and decentralized state,” Ali said. “We have chosen the second path. And we believe that the United Kingdom can be a key partner in this process.”
Meeting with Kurdish friendship group
The delegation also attended a meeting organized by the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Kurdish Affairs (APPG on Kurds). The meeting was chaired by Peter Lamb, co-chair of the APPG. Other participants included Labour MP Bambos Charalambous, Simon Dubbins from the UNITE trade union, and Mo Bakhtiar, a local politician of Kurdish origin from London.
Charalambous spoke out in favor of building a Syria without terror and authoritarian structures. He said that the SDF was a stabilizing factor that urgently needed further support. Dubbins particularly praised the inclusive and gender-equitable approach to the autonomous administration in northern and eastern Syria. “The structures there are an example of participatory democracy—and they have made great sacrifices in the fight against ISIS,” he said.
Looking back on ten years of war and prospects for change
In his speech, Ali recalled the enormous losses of the last ten years: millions of people were displaced, hundreds of thousands died, and large parts of the infrastructure were destroyed. “Despite everything, the will of the Syrian nation is stronger than the suffering it has endured,” he emphasized.
Ali said that centralism as a form of state organization was firmly rejected. He referred to the suicide attack carried out in June by a splinter group of Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), which effectively rules Damascus, on the Greek Orthodox Mar Elias Church in the Syrian capital, citing it as an example of the ongoing instability in the country.
Ali emphasized that centralized rule forms the basis for repression and escalation. The March 10 agreement, on the other hand, offers the opportunity to break the monopoly on power and establish a more just, federal order—provided it is implemented, he added.
The United Kingdom as a potential mediator
The talks ended with an appeal to the United Kingdom to take on a more active role in the dialogue between the autonomous administration and the central government in Damascus in the future—either as a political mediator or as a diplomatic guarantor for new political framework conditions.