Syrian government officials and several ranking Russian officers in a meeting with the Kurdish Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) in Manbij town discussed how to transfer to the Syrian army the management and control of Tishrin Dam on the Euphrates River in Aleppo province.

Syrian Energy Minister Zahir Kharboutli and several Russian commanders held a meeting with the SDF commanders in Manbij to discuss details of this transfer, which is seen by both sides as a necessary step to bring the dam’s turbine back into operation and relaunch hydropower generation.

The military council of Manbij announced in a statement earlier this month that the Kurdish forces would surrender the villages bordering the areas occupied by the Turkey-backed Euphrates Shield Operation militants to the Syrian army.