End of the road in sight for YPG in Syria: Fidan
ISTANBUL
The end of the road for PKK and its Syrian offshoot, YPG, is in the sight, the Turkish foreign minister has vowed, reiterating that it will either be the new administration in Syria or Türkiye itself to take necessary steps to eliminate the terrorist threat in the neighboring country.
Hakan Fidan organized a comprehensive press conference for national and foreign journalists on Jan. 10 in Istanbul, where he made a substantial assessment on the ongoing developments in the region, particularly in Syria after the sudden fall of the Assad regime last month.
“The end of the road for the separatist organization and its affiliation in Syria is in the sight. Clearing Syria of the terrorists in 2025 is one of main the priorities of Türkiye,” Fidan said, referring to PKK and YPG.
The latter controls a good part of the Syrian territories in the eastern Euphrates as a result of its continued partnership with the U.S. in the fight against ISIL.
Fidan underlined that there is now a new reality in Syria and no actor can create excuses. “We have said many times. We cannot live with this threat,” he said.
The new Syrian administration is of the same position and carrying out talks for resolving the problem, the minister stressed, adding “Türkiye has the strength, the capacity and above all the determination to eliminate all threats to its survival at their source.”
Fidan repeated that YPG should disband itself, its non-Syrian members should leave Syria and then others should integrate with the new political system in Syria.
He criticized mostly Western narratives that equate PKK and YPG with the Kurds in the region, stressing “Türkiye is not fighting with the Kurds but PKK.”
On a question about the presence of the Turkish military in Syria, Fidan said there is an ongoing assessment on the future military-to-military engagement with the new Syrian leadership in line with the new perspective after Dec. 8.
‘The only counterpart is US’
Fidan also responded to the questions over ongoing diplomatic traffic with the Western partners over the presence of YPG and how the fight against ISIL can endure in the new period.
“The U.S. is our only counterpart... Frankly, we don't take into account countries that try to advance their own interests in Syria by hiding behind U.S. power,” he said, referring to France after YPG officials argued that the European power can deploy troops to control the Turkish-Syrian border.
“If France had anything to do, it should take its own citizens, bring them to its own prisons and judge them,” he said. “They have a policy; they do not bring DAESH [ISIL] prisoners back to their own countries. But they do not care about our security.”
Open and direct dialogue with Trump administration
On a question about ties between Ankara and Washington during the Trump administration, Fidan said he hoped to advance the momentum in the bilateral relations through open and direct communication.
“We want to move forward our bilateral ties and cooperation in the contexts of the Israel-Palestine conflict, Russia-Ukraine conflict and finding a lasting peace in the Middle East,” he stated.
President-elect Donald Trump and President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan have worked together during the former’s first term, Fidan underlined, but also stressing that “there will be an important change on the U.S. foreign policy under the Trump rule.”
Iran should support Türkiye’s fight against terror
On a question about Iran, Fidan said Türkiye always wants to develop its ties with its eastern neighbor and expects Tehran to support Türkiye’s fight against PKK.
“There are some who think about differently about PKK in Iran. But it is not a secret that we call on all the countries – the U.S., Russia etc. – not only Iran, not to support PKK or at least not to remain indifferent,” Fidan said.
He also expressed his opinion that Iran might adopt a new policy in the Middle East by abandoning its old habits in the aftermath of the fall of the Assad regime, its main ally in the region.
