The Syrian government said on 9 Aug it is cancelling its participation in upcoming negotiations in Paris with the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces, citing a conference the SDF hosted a day earlier in the northeastern city of Hasakah. A statement carried by state news agency SANA described the Hasakah gathering as “a blow to ongoing negotiation efforts,” accusing the SDF of promoting separatism, inviting foreign intervention and violating the 10 March agreement that was meant to merge the group into state institutions. Damascus warned the militia it would bear responsibility for any renewed international sanctions. The one-day forum, organised by the SDF’s civilian administration, brought together representatives of minority communities and called for a revision of the constitutional declaration President Ahmed al-Sharaa issued earlier this year. Delegates also criticised the government’s handling of recent sectarian clashes in Suweida and demanded broader minority participation in any transitional roadmap. Druze spiritual leader Hikmat al-Hijri, who attended the event, later released a video thanking Israel for what he termed humanitarian intervention in southern Syria and urged an international inquiry into alleged atrocities against the Druze community. Damascus seized on the remarks as evidence of foreign meddling. The SDF, for its part, accused government forces of renewed attacks on its territory, underscoring a sharp escalation in rhetoric and tension between the two sides.