Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan said Syrian Kurdish forces’ quick integration into Syria would help accelerate the country’s development and promote national unity, in remarks shared by his office on Tuesday.
The Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), which controls large swaths of Syria’s oil-rich northeast, signed an agreement with the new Syrian authorities in March to merge their civil and military institutions, although the terms of the deal were never implemented.
Last week Syria announced a comprehensive ceasefire with the Kurdish forces after talks between President Ahmed al-Sharaa and Kurdish leader Mazloum Abdi that followed deadly clashes in the northern city of Aleppo.
In an interview with Agence France-Presse, Abdi said he had reached a “preliminary agreement” with Damascus on the integration of his troops into Syria’s military and security forces.
Erdoğan, whose government has forged close ties with Syria’s new rulers, said the integration should happen as soon as possible.
“The swift integration of the SDF into Syria will also accelerate Syria’s development efforts,” he told reporters on the plane back from a summit in Egypt.
“We commend the Syrian government for moving forward with a vision that encompasses all ethnic and religious elements of the country,” he said.
“This is in the interest of both Syria and Turkey.”
Between 2016 and 2019 Turkey launched three offensives in northern Syria against Syrian Kurdish fighters, who form the backbone of the SDF, and against Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) militants.
© Agence France-Presse