Turkey will not tolerate any “misuse” of the integration process between the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), spearheaded by Kurdish militants, and Syria’s new central government, the Cumhuriyet daily reported on Thursday, citing sources from the defense ministry.
The report came a day after senior officials met with the press at a military facility in the northwestern province of Sakarya.
The SDF, a US-backed, Kurdish-led military alliance, reached a historic agreement in March with Syria’s transitional government to dissolve its autonomous structures and integrate into the state’s military and civil institutions.
The deal, which covers northeastern oil-rich territories long under Kurdish control, was celebrated by Damascus as a step toward national reunification after more than a decade of war.
The SDF is dominated by the People’s Protection Units (YPG), a Kurdish militia that Turkey considers the Syrian offshoot of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), which has waged a decades-long insurgency inside Turkey.
“We will not allow the YPG/SDF to exploit this integration process,” Turkish Defense Ministry sources were quoted by Cumhuriyet as saying, reiterating that Ankara views the group as a terrorist entity regardless of any deal it strikes with Damascus.
Turkey says its core goal in Syria remains the preservation of the country’s territorial integrity, the restoration of state security capabilities and bilateral cooperation on counterterrorism.
The statement comes amid growing Turkish skepticism over the pace and transparency of the integration process, with President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan last week accusing the SDF of stalling the handover of key border regions and oil infrastructure.
Since March the Syrian government has gradually assumed control of several areas formerly held by the SDF, including strategic checkpoints, prisons and the Tishrin Dam.
Yet Turkish officials fear the group may retain de facto autonomy under the guise of formal integration, thereby shielding its fighters from disarming or relocation.
Turkey is not part of the Syrian peace deal but maintains a significant military presence in northern Syria and has conducted multiple cross-border operations targeting both the YPG and Islamic State militants.
Its military footprint, combined with its political leverage in the Syrian opposition, positions Ankara as a key external actor whose cooperation or resistance could shape the outcome of any political transition in Damascus.