Senator Marco Rubio, the nominee for US secretary of state in the Donald Trump administration, has said Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan should not be allowed to see the change of administration in the US as a “window” for taking advantage of or violating agreements with the Syrian Kurds.
Rubio’s remarks came during his Senate Foreign Affairs Committee confirmation hearing on Wednesday when he answered a question as to whether he agrees the US should continue to support the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) in the fight against the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL).
He said the US should “absolutely” continue to support the SDF and must also recognize that abandoning the US partners, the Kurds, in Syria, who have made a “great sacrifice” and hosted ISIL militants in jails “at great personal threat to them” could have implications such as the resurgence of ISIL.
Very significant comments on #Syria & the clearest indication yet on the future US involvement, from Trump's incoming Secretary of State Marco Rubio
📌 US will not abandon Kurdish-led #SDF guarding #ISIS camps
📌 Rubio hints at possibility of removing sanctions on HTS-led Govt… pic.twitter.com/pQpqvFPgxx— Broderick McDonald (@BroderickM_) January 15, 2025
Rubio said there is currently a very “tenuous” ceasefire between Turkey-backed groups and Kurdish forces in northern Syria and that it is important to maintain the ceasefire and signal to Erdoğan early that “they should not view a transition in power in the US as a window in which they can take advantage of to sort of violate whatever agreements are in place.”
Turkey views the SDF and the People’s Protection Units (YPG) as terrorist groups and offshoots of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), which has been waging a bloody war in the country’s southeast since 1984 and is designated as a terrorist organization by Turkey and its Western allies.
Turkey stepped up its rhetoric against Syria’s Kurds following the ouster of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad by an alliance of rebel groups on December 8 following an 11-day offensive.
Last month Turkey hit back at claims by the United States that it had agreed to a ceasefire with Kurdish militant groups in northern Syria and vowed to continue working to clear them from the territory amid growing fears about a military operation.
Since 2016 Turkey has carried out successive ground operations in Syria to push Kurdish forces away from its border. It has faced accusations of striking civilian and military targets and infrastructure and causing casualties during its operations in northeast Syria.
The SDF has been a key US ally in combating ISIL and is backed by the US with weapons and training.
There are two camps in northeastern Syria, al-Hol and Roj, which hold thousands of alleged ISIL fighters and their family members. The camps are run by the SDF.
Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan said earlier this month that the transitional government in Syria should take over the camps and prisons in the country housing suspected members of ISIL and that Turkey is ready to offer support.
Rubio also talked about concerns over the new rulers of Syria, saying they recognize that these people will not be able to pass an “FBI background check,” adding: “That said, it is in the national interest of the United States, if possible, to have a Syria that’s no longer a playground for [ISIL].”
Rubio, a longtime advocate of hawkish foreign policy has been a vocal critic of Turkey’s policies in Syria and elsewhere.
Some analysts say his influence on US foreign policy could complicate Erdoğan’s agenda, which relies heavily on a transactional approach to diplomacy and personal rapport with Trump.
Trump and Vice President-elect JD Vance will be sworn into office at the US Capitol on January 20.