Turkey’s Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan warned the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) that Ankara’s tolerance is nearing its limits, accusing the group’s leadership of “playing for time” and urging rapid integration with Damascus under a March 10 agreement that remains unimplemented. Speaking alongside visiting Syrian Foreign Minister Esad Hasan Sheybani at a joint press conference in Ankara, Fidan said the stalemate is undermining Turkey’s “Terror-Free Turkey” initiative and that Ankara sees “cunning” maneuvers on the ground despite its investment in goodwill.
As reported by the T24 news site, in response to a question about how the failure to implement the March 10 deal affects Turkey’s domestic security campaign, Fidan argued that the SDF cannot claim to be unbound by its commitments or unaffected by the processes unfolding in Turkey. He challenged the logic of those dismissing the agreement and questioned whether some actors aim to turn “our esteemed Kurdish brothers into proxies,” a strategy he said would harm not only Kurds but Syria as a whole.
“There are developments we are finding increasingly hard to tolerate,” Fidan said, asserting that foreign militants from Turkey, Iraq, Iran, and Europe have not departed Syria. Since March 10, when Ankara launched its security initiative, he added, Turkey has not observed confidence-building steps from the SDF. “On the contrary, we see them waiting to maximize gains in the event of a crisis—both in Damascus and Ankara. They should not think we don’t see this; we do.”
Fidan emphasized that both Ankara and Damascus are seeking a solution that eliminates armed threats and safeguards the rights, identities, beliefs, and cultures of all parties. “There is a genuine will to achieve something through peace and reconciliation. This is a historic will. They should use it,” he said.
Citing engagement by Washington, Fidan noted what he described as constructive efforts by the new U.S. administration’s special envoy, Tom Barrack, to facilitate an SDF/YPG accommodation with the Syrian state. While acknowledging potential “detailed problems,” Fidan said Turkey supports work toward a strategic settlement. He urged the YPG’s leadership to abandon “playing for time,” arguing that the turmoil they anticipate either will not occur or will not produce the outcome they seek. “They must stop mortgaging the future of our Kurdish brothers,” he said.
“There is a new period and a new spirit in the region, and in Turkey,” Fidan continued. “We must make use of this. Sorry, but no one is a fool; we are not fools—‘Enayi değiliz.’ The fact that we invest goodwill in these processes does not mean we overlook the scheming on the ground. Being a great state with a great purpose has rules, and we are following them. We warn you: change your stance. Think about how to rebuild Syria together.”
Fidan added that Turkey seeks neither occupation nor domination, but cannot remain at ease if its security concerns are unmet. He called on the YPG leadership to engage positively with Damascus and “remove themselves as a threat” by ending reliance on foreign fighters.
Photo: T24