OMM Redaksiyası
Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan renewed calls for the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) to disarm and disband during talks with Syrian officials in Damascus.
Fidan met with Syrian Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shaibani and Interior Minister Anas Khattab on Sunday. The talks focused on security, political unity and relations between the two countries.
Speaking at a joint news conference with al-Shaibani, Fidan said Ankara hoped the SDF’s previous pledge to lay down its arms and disband would soon “be put into practice on the ground.”
Ankara considers the People’s Protection Units (YPG), the SDF’s main component, an extension of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), which is designated as a terrorist organization by Türkiye, the United States and the European Union.
The SDF, a key US partner in the fight against the Islamic State (ISIS) terrorist group since 2014, maintains a significant presence in several areas of northeastern Syria.
In recent months, the SDF’s weapons and military structure, as well as its control over key border crossings and oil fields, have remained central issues in the group’s negotiations with Damascus. The Syrian authorities want all armed groups, including the SDF, to be formally integrated into the state’s military structure.
Warming Turkey-Syria ties
Türkiye says any agreement must eliminate security threats along its southern border, including those posed by independently operating armed groups.
During his remarks in Damascus, Fidan also said Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan planned to visit neighboring Syria “in the near future.” The minister provided no further details about the trip.
Such a visit could mark a significant step in the rapid restoration of bilateral relations following the ouster of Bashar al-Assad’s government at the end of 2024. Türkiye supported the armed opposition during Syria’s 13-year civil war, hosted millions of Syrian refugees and deployed military forces in parts of northern Syria.
Since the start of Syria’s post-Assad political transition, Ankara has supported the new leadership in Damascus and expanded cooperation in security, trade and reconstruction.
SDF remains key point of disagreement
Despite the rapid improvement in relations between Ankara and Damascus, the SDF issue remains a potential source of instability. Türkiye has repeatedly demanded that the group disarm.
Leaders of Syria’s Kurdish communities, meanwhile, are seeking political and cultural guarantees within a unified Syrian state.
