Türkiye’s foreign minister has renewed calls for the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) to disarm and disband, during talks with Syrian officials in Damascus.
On Sunday, Hakan Fidan met Syrian Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shaibani and Interior Minister Anas Khattab in Damascus, where talks focused on security, political unity and bilateral ties between the two countries.
At a joint press conference with al-Shaibani, Fidan expressed Ankara’s hope that an earlier pledge by the SDF to disband and lay down its arms would soon be “translated into practice on the ground.”
Fidan’s remarks underscored Türkiye’s cautious optimism over the future of the group.
Ankara views the SDF’s main component, the People’s Protection Units (YPG), as an extension of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), which has long been designated as a terrorist organisation by Türkiye, the U.S. and the European Union.
The SDF, which became Washington’s principal partner in the fight against the Islamic State (Daesh) terrorist group in 2014, still maintains a significant presence in several parts of north-eastern Syria.
In recent months, the SDF’s weapons and military structure, as well as its control of key border crossings and oilfields, have remained central issues in the group’s ongoing negotiations with Damascus.
Syrian authorities want all armed factions, including the SDF, to be formally incorporated into the state military apparatus.
Türkiye, for its part, says any agreement must eliminate security threats along its southern border, including from armed groups operating independently.
Speaking in Damascus, Fidan also said Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan plans to visit neighbouring Syria “in the near future.”
Although Fidan gave no further details, such a visit would mark a major step in the rapid rebuilding of bilateral ties since the fall of Bashar al-Assad’s government in late 2024.
Türkiye backed Syria’s armed opposition during the country’s 13-year civil war, has hosted millions of Syrian refugees and deployed troops across parts of northern Syria.
Since Syria’s post-Assad political transition began, Ankara has supported the new leadership in Damascus, while stepping up cooperation on security, trade and reconstruction.
Despite the rapid improvement in relations between Ankara and Damascus, the SDF issue remains a potential source of instability.
Ankara has repeatedly called for the group’s disarmament, while leaders of Syria’s Kurdish communities have sought political and cultural protections within a unified Syrian state.
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