ISTANBUL: President Recep Tayyip Erdogan urged Syrian Kurds to “complete their integration” with Syria’s new government after the announcement of a comprehensive ceasefire, in a transcript shared by his office Wednesday.
“The Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) must keep their word. They must complete their integration with Syria,” Erdogan told Turkish journalists late Tuesday on board a plane returning from Azerbaijan.
Syria announced a comprehensive ceasefire with Kurdish forces after a meeting on Tuesday between Syrian President Ahmed Al-Sharaa and Kurdish leader Mazloum Abdi that followed deadly clashes in the northern city of Aleppo.
Syria’s authorities, who took power last year after overthrowing Bashar Assad, have rejected Kurdish demands for a decentralized government.
The issue has added to tensions with the Kurdish administration that controls swathes of the north and northeast, while differences between the two sides have held up implementation of a March 10 deal on integrating the Kurds’ civil and military institutions into the state.
Erdogan said: “Syria’s territorial integrity is non-negotiable for us. We cannot accept any stance against this.”
His government has supported Syria’s new rulers led by Sharaa.
Between 2016 and 2019, Turkiye launched three offensives in northern Syria against Syrian Kurdish fighters, who form the backbone of the SDF, and against the Daesh group.