Turkey said Syria’s new rebel government agrees with Ankara on the need to dismantle Kurdish military forces — a critical US ally in the northern region of Syria — as countries rush to shape the future of the region after the downfall of the Assad regime.
Turkey and the US have long been at loggerheads over Washington’s military and logistical support to Kurdish forces in Syria. The issue remains a priority for Ankara amid talks on what Syria’s future will look like under Hayat Tahrir Al-Sham, which now controls Syria, with Turkish officials saying Kurdish presence at the border is a major security concern.
“In the new period, the PKK/YPG terror organisation will be dissolved sooner or later,” Turkish Defense Minister Yasar Guler told reporters on Saturday. “Both the new administration in Syria and we want this.”
No formal agreement has been announced and Guler did not provide further details. It wasn’t immediately possible to verify the information with officials in the transitional government in Syria. While HTS, a breakaway faction of al-Qaeda, hasn’t explicitly commented on any discussions with the Turks over the Kurds, the group has repeatedly said religious minorities won’t be harmed under their rule.
Turkey, the US and the EU list the Kurdish militant group PKK, which has waged a decades-long armed campaign in Turkey’s southeast, as a terror group. But unlike the US, Turkey also sees the YPG, one of the main factions that make up the Washington-backed Syrian Democratic Forces, as an extension of the PKK.
The Kurdish issue topped the agenda during Secretary of State Antony Blinken’s visit to Ankara earlier this week, when he met with President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan. Turkish officials have urged the US to review its support of the Kurdish militia. The US however, has relied on the SDF to prevent potential resurgence of Islamic State, especially in the post-Assad landscape.
Turkey wants the YPG to lay down their arms as well as the departure of its foreign members from Syria, Guler said, in order to pave the way for their integration into a future Syrian security force. Any heavy weapons in their hands should also be taken back, he said.
“It is out of the question for the Syrian people, or the new administration, or us to allow the PKK/YPG terrorist organization to act alone and create space for itself,” the minister said. “Our priority is the PKK/YPG terrorist organization’s eradication. We expressed this clearly to our US friends. We expect them to re-evaluate their positions.”
According to Guler, Washington has yet to respond to a Turkish proposal to allocate three commando brigades to assume the responsibility of fighting IS and holding detainees in Syria as he downplayed the threat level posed by the group, also known as Daesh.
“Has anyone heard of Daesh terrorists attacking in Syria in the last three years?” Guler said. “We do not hear or see anything about Daesh right now.”
Blinken said Saturday that US officials had spoken directly with HTS, as well as other groups, on a set of principles the US and Arab partners want to guide Syria’s political transition. Turkey and the US were among the nations issuing a joint statement calling for an end to hostilities in Syria during a summit in Jordan over the weekend.
“We think it is necessary to see what the new administration will do and give them a chance,” said Guler, adding that the rebel government has assured its transparent cooperation with international institutions if they detect chemical weapons.
In response to a question on whether Turkey, which has NATO’s second-largest army after the US, would agree to a potential military training and cooperation deal, he said: “We are ready to provide the necessary support if requested by the new management.”
