, accusing the group of violating its integration agreement with the Syrian government and pursuing “provocative and divisive actions” that have derailed efforts to restore Syria’s unity and stability, the state-run Anadolu news agency reported.){kind=link}
Turkey’s defense ministry has strongly criticized the US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), accusing the group of violating its integration agreement with the Syrian government and pursuing “provocative and divisive actions” that have derailed efforts to restore Syria’s unity and stability, the state-run Anadolu news agency reported.
The SDF, which controls much of northeast Syria, signed an agreement with Damascus in March to integrate into the Syrian state apparatus.
In a statement delivered during a weekly press briefing on Thursday, Rear Adm. Zeki Aktürk, spokesperson for the Turkish Ministry of Defense, said the SDF “has failed to meet any conditions of the agreement and continues efforts that threaten Syria’s political unity and territorial integrity.”
Aktürk claimed that while the Syrian government has demonstrated an inclusive approach to end ethnic and sectarian divisions, the SDF’s “provocative and divisive” actions have obstructed progress toward a peaceful resolution.
Turkey said it remains committed to supporting Syria’s counterterrorism efforts and is stepping up military cooperation through a new memorandum signed this week covering joint training and advisory support.
The defense ministry’s remarks came a day after Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan said the Kurdish People’s Protection Units (YPG), which leads the SDF, should stop “playing for time” and abide by the integration agreement, warning that Ankara will not tolerate continued threats to its security.
Speaking at a joint press conference in Ankara with his Syrian counterpart, Asaad al-Shibani, Fidan urged the YPG to end its role as a security threat by disbanding the foreign fighters it has brought in from Turkey, Iraq, Iran and Europe.
Ankara considers both the SDF and the YPG to be terrorist organizations, regarding the YPG as an extension of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK).
The developments come amid Ankara’s peace efforts with the PKK, which destroyed weapons in a symbolic ceremony in northern Iraq on July 11 in line with a call from its jailed leader, Abdullah Öcalan, who in February called on the militant group to lay down its arms and disband. Turkey wants all other Kurdish militant groups affiliated with the PKK in the region to lay down their arms as well.
The SDF has long been in conflict with Turkey-backed Syrian armed groups in northern Syria. While Turkey says the PKK and YPG are linked, the YPG has previously said Öcalan’s calls do not apply to it.
The SDF has been rejecting Turkish calls for it to give up their weapons as part of Ankara’s broader peace efforts with Kurdish militants, saying the situation in Syria requires integration, not the laying down of arms.