Türkiye on Monday said it was a “matter of time” before the PKK terrorist group’s Syrian wing, YPG, was driven out of Syria and that it would not agree to any policy that allowed the PKK/YPG to maintain a presence there.
“We are in a position not only to see but also to break any kind of plot in the region,” Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan told a joint news conference with his Jordanian counterpart Ayman Safadi in the capital, Ankara.
“Conditions in Syria have changed. We believe it’s only a matter of time before the PKK/YPG is eliminated,” he said, stressing that the terror group must lay down its arms in Syria “as soon as possible.”
“The PKK’s empire of violence built over Kurdish people is on the verge of collapsing,” he added.
Fidan warned Western nations against supporting the PKK/YPG in Syria.
“If you (the West) have different aims in the region, if you want to serve another policy by using Daesh as an excuse to embolden the PKK, then there is no way for that either,” he said.
Türkiye has long been bothered by the U.S. support of the PKK/YPG in Syria, considering the PKK is proscribed as a terrorist group by the European Union, the U.S. and Türkiye.
The terrorist group is responsible for more than 40,000 deaths in Türkiye, including women and children. It maintains strongholds in northern Iraq and Syria for its so-called “Kurdish state.”
The PKK/YPG has occupied swathes of northern Syria, including oil-rich areas, since 2015, with the help of the U.S. Washington calls the group its main ally in the fight against Daesh, much to Ankara’s chagrin.
Türkiye says the YPG/PKK is on par with Daesh and should have no presence in the new Syria.
While it has fought the PKK in northern Iraq for over 20 years, Ankara has mounted multiple operations against the YPG in Syria since 2016.
Türkiye says it trusts the new Syrian administration in the fight against PKK/YPG but threatened military action if the terrorist group refuses to disband, with President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan saying the terrorist group either “bury their arms” or themselves would “be buried.”
Fidan’s remarks came after Safadi, with whom he discussed the Daesh threat in Syria in the wake of the toppling of Bashar Assad by anti-regime forces last month.
“We discussed what we can do together against the threat of Daesh in Syria and the region,” Fidan said.
“Daesh is a poison for Muslim societies. Of course, using our religion to brutally kill people … (and) create chaos is not something we will remain silent about,” he added.
“It is very important that Daesh does not rise again.”
Jordanian diplomat Safadi backed Fidan’s remarks, stressing that “anything that threatens Türkiye’s security also threatens the security of the region.”
“Jordan is coordinating with Türkiye to contribute to increasing security and stability in the region in light of the challenges we face,” Safadi told reporters.
Fidan and Safadi led a meeting that discussed Syria, Gaza, regional issues, and bilateral ties.
National Defense Minister Yaşar Güler and National Intelligence Organization (MIT) head Ibrahim Kalın, as well as Jordan’s chief of staff, Major Gen. Yousef Huneiti, and head of the intelligence department, Major Gen. Ahmad Husni, accompanied the diplomats in the meeting.
Türkiye and Jordan agreed that an all-encompassing government must be established in Syria, Fidan continued.
“Mr. Safadi and I also discussed in detail steps to revive Syria, especially in transport, agriculture, and food security, and we have produced a road map,” he added.
He and Safadi tackled efforts for stability in Iraq, which border both Syria and Jordan, and Israel’s “ongoing genocide in Gaza”, according to Fidan.
Since the anti-regime offensive took Damascus and Bashar Assad fled to Russia, Ankara has vowed to “do whatever is necessary” for the reconstruction of Syria, which the new administration in Damascus has welcomed.
Safadi said “a new history” would be written for Syria, which he said would “gain its sovereignty and liberate its territories.”
“Our stance with Türkiye is the same. Jordan supports a new Syria. The rights of the people must be returned,” Safadi said.
The sides also discussed the voluntary and dignified return of Syrians living in Türkiye and Jordan to their homeland.
A Turkish Parliament official on Sunday told Anadolu Agency (AA) that the number of people who returned from Türkiye to Syria since the fall of the Syrian regime was around 40,000 people.
Some 400,000 displaced Syrians who took shelter in Türkiye, Jordan and Lebanon or within Syria have returned to their homes since Dec. 8, 2024, according to the United Nations figures.
Türkiye is home to nearly 3 million refugees who fled the civil war that broke out in 2011. Ankara is in close touch with Syria’s new leaders. It is now focusing on the voluntary return of Syrian refugees, hoping the shift in power in Damascus will allow many of them to return home.
The Turkish official said a migration committee of the Turkish Parliament would visit border cities to observe the safe return of Syrian refugees.
Safadi last visited Türkiye on Oct. 15, 2024.
Fidan visited Jordan’s Aqaba city on Dec. 14, 2024, to attend a meeting on Syria and with his Jordanian counterpart.
Fidan also spoke with Safadi over the phone on Dec. 23, 2024.
Regular consultations and mutual visits between Türkiye and Jordan, two important partners in the region, contribute to advancing their multifaceted relations.
The two countries are working closely together, bilaterally and multilateral, in response to developments in the region.
As of November 2024, the trade volume between the two countries had reached approximately $1 billion, and efforts are underway to increase this figure further.