The Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) has described recent clashes between the Syrian military and Kurdish forces as a “setback” and a “plot” intended to derail the ongoing peace process with Turkey.
In a statement to AFP on Tuesday, Zagros Hiwa, a spokesman for the PKK’s political wing, asserted that regional developments directly impact the negotiations. “The developments in Syria and the larger Middle East have a direct effect on the peace process in Turkey,” Hiwa stated. “The attacks against the Kurds are a plot and conspiracy against the peace process and they indicate a setback in the process.”
These remarks were reinforced by senior PKK leader Murat Karayilan, who cautioned that policies targeting Kurds in northern Syria were incompatible with peace efforts.
The situation follows the extension of a 15-day truce between Syrian government forces and the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) on Saturday, after weeks of fighting resulted in the SDF losing significant territory. The SDF is now largely confined to Kurdish-majority areas in northern Syria.
Turkey, which is a close ally of the new Syrian leadership that took power in December 2024, is working to help extend state control across all of Syria. Simultaneously, Ankara has been pursuing a peace settlement with the PKK, an organization it and its Western allies list as a terrorist group.
While the PKK had previously announced an end to its four-decade insurgency in favor of a democratic path, the process has stalled. Turkey views Syrian Kurdish forces as an extension of the PKK.
Hiwa described the PKK’s “commitment to the peace process as a strategic issue,” but warned that their strategy “does not exclude the urgency of self-defence.” He added that while there were “hopes for a permanent ceasefire” in Syria, the PKK would “re-evaluate” its position if there were “further escalation and acts of genocide against the Kurds.”
Speaking to Sterk TV, Karayilan was more direct, warning Ankara that “there can be no peace with the Kurds over the dead bodies of Rojava,” referring to the Kurdish-administered areas in Syria.
“If your main goal is to wipe them out (in Syria) while expecting the Kurds in the north to make peace with Turkey, this is impossible,” Karayilan said. “If you really desire brotherhood and peace, this policy must be abandoned.”
