Turkey’s defence minister on Tuesday demanded that all Kurdish armed groups — “including in Syria” — lay down their weapons.
“The PKK (the Kurdistan Workers’ Party) and all affiliated groups must immediately cease all terrorist activity in regions where they are present, including in Syria, and lay down their weapons without condition,” Yasar Guler said in Ankara.
In May, the PKK formally renounced its decades-long armed struggle against the Turkish state, ending a conflict that claimed tens of thousands of lives.
“We will not allow any terrorist organisation — particularly the PKK, the PYD, the YPG, and the SDF — to establish a foothold in the region,” he added, referring to the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces and its main element, the People’s Protection Units (YPG).
The implementation of a March 2025 deal to merge the Kurds’ semi-autonomous administration and military into Syria’s new Islamist government has stalled. Ankara had called for the agreement to come into force by the end of 2025, but the group’s integration has proven complicated.
Turkey views Kurdish armed groups in Syria as offshoots of the PKK.
PKK leader Abdullah Ocalan, who has been imprisoned for 26 years, called on the Turkish government in December to broker a peace deal between the SDF and Damascus.
SDF chief Mazloum Abdi on Sunday held further talks with officials in Damascus on integrating the Kurdish-led forces, but state media said no tangible results were achieved.
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© Agence France-Presse
