Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan threatens military action against PKK-linked YPG group if they fail to meet Ankara’s demands.
Turkiye has threatened to launch a military operation against Kurdish forces in Syria unless they accept Ankara’s conditions for a “bloodless” transition following the overthrow of Bashar al-Assad last month.
Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan told CNN Turk television late on Tuesday that “we will do what’s necessary” if the People’s Protection Units (YPG) fail to meet Ankara’s demands. Turkiye is seeking to make itself a key player as its southern neighbour stabilises.
Fidan said “a military operation” could be on the cards, although he added that the new Syrian leadership, for which Turkiye has voiced support, has the power to battle the YPG on its own.
Al-Assad’s overthrow by opposition rebel forces last month raised the prospect of Turkiye intervening directly against Kurdish forces in Syria, which are accused by Ankara of links to the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK).
The PKK has been battling the Turkish government for decades. Turkiye, as well as the United States and the European Union, has long considered it a “terrorist organisation”. The conflict is estimated to have killed more than 40,000 people.
The presence of YPG in Syria remains central to Turkiye’s security strategy as it considers the two groups organically linked and adhering to the same ethno-nationalist separatism.
“Those international fighters who came from Turkiye, Iran and Iraq must leave Syria immediately. We see neither any preparation nor any intention in this direction right now and we are waiting,” Fidan told CNN Turk.
Turkish-backed factions in northern Syria resumed their armed conflict with Kurdish forces at the same time that the rebels launched their November 27 offensive that ousted al-Assad just 11 days later.
‘Give it some time’
The new interim Syrian leader, Ahmed al-Sharaa, whose Hayat Tahrir al-Sham group has long had ties with Turkiye, told Al Arabiya TV on Sunday that the Kurdish-led forces should be integrated into the national army.
Fidan, who met al-Sharaa in Damascus last month, said Ankara expected the new leadership to address the YPG issue, although he added that it is ready to “give it some time” with talks between Damascus and the YPG ongoing.
“The terrorist fighters coming from international countries must leave Syria, the PKK leadership must leave the country. The remaining cadres must lay down their weapons and join the new system, this is for a bloodless and problem-free transition.”
When asked if Turkiye would still intervene in Syria despite the US support for the YPG, Fidan said: “We did it in the past in Afrin, in Ras al-Ain and in Tal Abyad”, referring to locations in northern Syria that Turkiye has targeted.
He said Turkiye would not hesitate to do it again. “This is what our national security requires. We don’t have any other option.”
