Türkiye said on Thursday the failure of the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) to abide by an agreement with Damascus to disarm and integrate into the Syrian state poses a threat to its national security and to Syria’s unity.
A senior defense ministry official told reporters that the SDF, which Ankara labels a terrorist group, must honor the March 10 deal with Damascus, join the Syrian army and “abandon any act or rhetoric that undermines the country’s integrity.”
The official said Türkiye would provide “all necessary support” to the Syrian government if needed to safeguard both Syria’s stability and Türkiye’s security.
Türkiye and Syria signed a defense cooperation memorandum in August covering training, advisory work and military support. Turkish Defense Minister Yasar Guler and his Syrian counterpart, Murhaf Abu Qasra, signed the deal in Ankara.
The Syrian presidency said in March that the SDF had agreed to fold its civil and military structures in northeast Syria, including border crossings, airports and energy fields, into state institutions, and to observe a full ceasefire. In return, Damascus pledged to guarantee Kurdish citizenship rights.
The SDF is spearheaded by the Kurdish YPG militia, which Ankara sees as an extension of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK). The PKK is designated a terrorist organization by Türkiye, the United States and the European Union.
Washington, however, considers the SDF a key partner in its campaign against ISIS and draws a distinction between it and the PKK – a longstanding source of friction with Ankara.
President Recep Tayyip Erdogan warned on Tuesday that neither Türkiye nor Damascus would tolerate “forces seeking chaos” in Syria. He accused Israel of obstructing the SDF’s integration into the Syrian army and said “war profiteers” would lose this time.
Meanwhile, pro-Kurdish lawmaker Pervin Buldan said jailed PKK leader Abdullah Ocalan had described Syria and the Kurdish-led enclave known to Kurds as “Rojava” as a red line for him.
Speaking after a recent visit by a delegation to Ocalan in prison, she told reporters he wanted direct talks with the Kurdish-led administration in northeast Syria if the chance arose.
Ocalan in February urged the PKK to disband and lay down its arms under a “call for peace and democratic society,” which Ankara said also applied to the YPG and SDF. But Buldan said his latest remarks suggested he viewed the Syrian Kurdish question separately.
She said Türkiye should support Syrian Kurds rather than undermine them, warning that any move against Rojava “would be a disaster for Kurds and unacceptable to them or to Mr. Ocalan.”
