Ankara warns YPG against regional destabilization
On Wednesday, Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan pressed the People's Protection Units (YPG) to end what he described as hostile activities against Turkiye and the wider region.
Ankara considers the YPG, the Syrian branch of the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), a terrorist organization.
'My call to the YPG is that they should immediately remove themselves as a threat to Turkiye and the region, along with the terrorists they have gathered from around the world,' he declared during a joint press conference in Ankara with Syrian Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shaibani.
Responding to questions on the PKK/YPG's refusal to disarm and the stalled implementation of the March 10 agreement —which calls for integrating the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), a coalition dominated by the YPG, into state institutions—the minister described the process in Syria as one rooted in goodwill and the protection of all rights, beliefs, and identities. He credited US Ambassador to Ankara and Syria Special Envoy Tom Barrack for his role, yet accused the YPG of 'stalling for time,' insisting that the instability they anticipate 'will not happen—and even if it does, the outcome they desire will never come to pass.'
Turkiye, Fidan stressed, is monitoring developments closely, warning that the PKK/YPG should not expect their envisioned outcome in Syria to materialize.
Regarding recent violence in Syria's southern Suwayda province, Fidan accused Israel of being 'one of the main actors behind this dark picture,' linking the unrest to what he described as Israel's expansionist policies in the region.
'Your [Israeli] security does not depend on the weakness or chaos of your neighbors, but on their prosperity and stability,' he added. 'Every step taken to keep these countries weak, unstable, or under occupation risks triggering further crises in the region.'
Since the collapse of Bashar al-Assad's regime in December 2024, Israel has carried out multiple strikes on Syrian military facilities, vehicles, and ammunition depots. In Suwayda, it intervened under the pretext of protecting the minority Druze amid clashes with Bedouin tribes and government forces, and also targeted Damascus, before a ceasefire took hold on July 19.
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