BEIRUT: Turkiye’s foreign minister said Saturday his country would reconsider its military presence in northeastern Syria if that country’s new leaders eliminate a Kurdish militant group designated as a terrorist organization by Turkiye, the United States and the European Union.
Hakan Fidan spoke at the Munich Security Conference alongside Syrian Foreign Minister Asaad Al-Shaibani, who did not comment on the remarks. Fidan has expressed such sentiments before.
The Kurdistan Workers’ Party, or PKK, has waged an insurgency against Turkiye for decades, seeking greater autonomy for Kurds.
“We can’t tolerate armed militia in any form,” Fidan said. He said such groups should be integrated “under one national army” in Syria and noted that its new leaders have been responsive to that idea.
Al-Shaibani did speak in support of disarming all non-state factions and of including Kurds in Syria’s new government.
The presence of Turkish-backed forces in northeastern Syria has increased substantially since insurgent groups ousted former President Bashar Assad late last year, and the forces have been targeting Kurdish forces more often.
Turkiye also views the Syrian Democratic Forces, a US-backed military Kurdish alliance in Syria, as an extension of the PKK. That has led to ongoing military confrontations between Turkish-backed forces and the SDF in northern Syria.
While most insurgent groups have agreed to integrate into the new Syrian army, the SDF has refused.
“Kurds are part of the Syrian nation but they can’t have their own army, as this is against our unity,” said another speaker on Saturday’s conference panel, Hind Kabawat of the Center for World Religions, Diplomacy and Conflict Resolution.
