Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan said Friday that the YPG/SDF terror group does not represent Syrian Kurds, as he spoke to Turkish news channel NTV.
"These are not independent actors. They are not actors that represent Syrian Kurds," he said. "This is a reality. These people are the Syrian branch of an illegal structure with political objectives spanning four parts."
Addressing possible different influence groups within the YPG/SDF and the role of SDF head Mazloum Abdi, Fidan stressed that Abdi is "a figure put on display," while underlining that the group is an extension of the PKK/KCK terror group.
He noted that if there is goodwill, the process should start with the removal of non-Syrian PKK members from Syria.
Fidan said there may be a possibility of extending the four-day ceasefire between the government and the group, which took effect Jan. 20, during the transfer of ISIS (Daesh) prisoners from Syria to Iraq.
"Ideally, the transfer of Daesh prisoners from Syria should take place. While this is happening, the existing non-conflict environment needs to be maintained," he noted.
Pointing to the sensitivity of the situation on the ground, Fidan underscored that the presence of US forces and Daesh prisoners made the dispute between the SDF and government forces more complex.
Asked whether Damascus could launch an operation in Ayn al-Arab, Hasakah or Qamishli if no agreement is reached during the ceasefire, Fidan said there is a process under US mediation to implement the Jan. 18 agreement.
Commenting on the rapid advances made by the Damascus government against the YPG/SDF on the ground in the last two weeks, Fidan noted that developments came as no surprise to him.
"When Arabs in Arab-populated areas rise up against the occupying force, knowing that government forces are behind them and that the Americans have already withdrawn their support from this misguided practice, there is no meaning in staying there," he said.
He reaffirmed that President Donald Trump's foreign policy aimed at avoiding direct US involvement in regional problems and instead encouraged regional countries to take ownership of the issues overlaps with Türkiye's policy for the region.
"Türkiye's sensitivity in the fight against Daesh is already clear. When you also consider the importance we attach to Syria's unity and territorial integrity, as well as to the cultural identities of minorities, ethnic groups and religious communities, and put all of this together, there is frankly no other reason for America to remain there from its own perspective," he said.
Fidan also reiterated the need to properly understand the core assumptions of the "terror-free Türkiye" process.
"Saying 'I will not carry out terrorist acts in Türkiye' does not mean you have reached a terror-free Türkiye. While tens of thousands of armed individuals remain across the border and have not abandoned their intent toward you, believing that you will remain terror-free here would be self-deception," he said.
