By Timour Azhari, Phil Stewart, Jonathan Spicer and Suleiman Al-Khalidi DAMASCUS (Reuters) -The United States encouraged its Syrian Kurdish allies to reach Monday's landmark deal with the Islamist-led government in Damascus,

US forces in eastern Syria continue to work closely with the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) and the Syrian Free Army (SFA). However, the agreement between SDF commander Mazloum Abdi and Syrian President Ahmad al Sharaa to integrate eastern Syria into the country’s new governing institutions could affect the US role in Syria and the broader anti-Islamic State campaign.

Abdi, by contrast, came to leadership via associations with the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK), an organization that Turkey and many Western countries consider a terrorist group.Therefore, depending on how one views these organizations,