President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan held a phone call with Syrian President Ahmed Sharaa late yesterday after the Damascus administration reached an agreement with the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF).
According to a statement from the presidency’s Communications Directorate, Erdoğan emphasized the necessity of clearing Syrian lands of terrorism for both Syria and the entire region. “Our president stated that Turkey’s support for Syria will continue to increase in many areas, particularly in the fight against terrorism,” the statement said.
Under the agreement reached yesterday, the SDF agreed to withdraw from the Arab-populated and hydrocarbon-rich regions of Raqqa and Deir ez-Zor.
In the Kurdish-majority Hasakah province and the city of Kobanî, special arrangements, including integration into Syrian institutions and the establishment of local police forces, will be implemented. SDF members will be allowed to join the Syrian army on an individual basis.
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Additionally, Sharaa issued a decree on Jan 16 recognizing Kurdish identity along with cultural and educational rights.
Established in 2015 with US support, the SDF is a coalition of the Kurdish People’s Defense Units (YPG) and Arab tribal forces. The group controlled approximately one-quarter of Syrian territory. Tribal forces in Raqqa and Deir ez-Zor reportedly switched sides, enabling the Syrian army to reassert control in these regions.
Equal citizenship rights
Communications Director Burhaneddin Duran also released a separate statement on social media regarding the developments. “We will closely monitor the fulfillment of the agreement conditions. What is happening today is not a coincidence; on the contrary, it is a projection of the principles and warnings that our president has been emphasizing for years," he asserted.
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Duran stated that the path to lasting stability in Syria involves guaranteeing the rights of all ethnic and sectarian elements on the basis of equal citizenship. He added that a Syria that protects its territorial integrity and is cleared of terrorist organizations is the key to regional peace.
Duran concluded by stating that Syria’s territorial integrity and sovereignty are indispensable for Turkey, which views its neighbor’s security as inseparable from its own.
In the middle of a big shakeout
The integration process in Syria has been closely monitored in Turkey, where a Kurdish peace initiative was launched in Oct 2024. Ankara maintained that the call for disarmament made in February by the imprisoned leader of the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), Abdullah Öcalan, also applies to the SDF. Turkey considers the SDF to be the Syrian wing of the PKK.
While the SDF had previously argued that Öcalan’s message did not concern them, yesterday's deal marks a shift in the group's stance on disarmament and integration.
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