, has called for the implementation of a March 10 agreement aimed at integrating Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) into Syria’s state institutions.){kind=link}
Abdullah Öcalan, the jailed founder of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), has called for the implementation of a March 10 agreement aimed at integrating Syria’s Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) into Syria’s state institutions, framing the step as key to preventing new fighting in Syria and supporting peace in Turkey.
In a New Year’s message released through Turkey’s Peoples’ Equality and Democracy Party (DEM Party) on Tuesday, Öcalan said the March 10 accord’s implementation “will ease and accelerate the process” in Syria and urged Turkey to play a “facilitating, constructive, and dialogue-oriented” role.
Turkey and Syria’s interim authorities have publicly blamed delays on the SDF, saying the force has not shown a willingness to move forward with integration and has tried to renegotiate core terms.
The March 10 agreement was signed in Damascus by Syria’s interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa and SDF commander Mazloum Abdi. It set out a plan to bring the SDF and the Kurdish-led civil administration in northeast Syria under the Syrian state by the end of 2025, including control over border crossings, airports and energy sites while also recognizing Kurdish rights within Syria.
Despite the deadline expiring in days, the deal is still not implemented.
Damascus on December 25 accused the SDF of making “unacceptable” demands and insisting on proposals that were “non-negotiable.”
Turkey’s foreign minister, Hakan Fidan, has recently said that the SDF appeared unwilling to advance integration and warned that patience was “running out,” while urging the force to honor the March 10 agreement “without any delay” or any “twisting” of it.
Öcalan’s endorsement of the March 10 agreement takes place at a moment when Abdi has publicly signaled openness to direct contact with Öcalan and has described him as a key figure for easing tensions with Turkey.
In interviews published in November, Abdi said the SDF had exchanged views with Öcalan through written messages and said he would like to visit Turkey and meet with him, arguing that personal contact could help resolve issues tied to PKK-linked fighters in northern Syria.
By calling for the March 10 accord to be implemented, Öcalan is, in effect, signaling to the SDF leadership that it should stop testing the agreement’s limits and move toward compliance at a time when Ankara and Damascus are pressing the group to do so.
Öcalan’s broader message
Öcalan portrayed nationalism and sectarianism as drivers of conflict in the Middle East and said the region needed what he called a “Peace and Democratic Society” approach to avoid “irreparable consequences” from a new conflict.
He said Kurdish rights could only be addressed through “social peace and democratic compromise,” not security-based policies.
He also tied peace to gender equality, writing that “the liberation of society is impossible without the liberation of women” and argued that a male-dominated political culture fuels violence.
Turning to Syria, Öcalan said the “chaotic situation” showed the need for democratization after years of authoritarian rule.
The SDF is a US-backed force led by Kurdish commanders that controls large parts of northeast Syria. It was the main US partner in the fight against the Islamic State group.
Turkey says the force is dominated by the People’s Protection Units (YPG), which Ankara views as the PKK’s Syria branch.
Öcalan has been held since 1999 in a high-security prison on İmralı, a small island in the Sea of Marmara south of İstanbul, serving multiple life sentences.
As part of Ankara’s renewed peace efforts, Öcalan in February 2025 called on the PKK to lay down arms and disband. The PKK later announced that it had accepted the call and held a symbolic weapons-burning ceremony in July.
Turkey’s parliament has been discussing a legal framework linked to the process, including measures that could affect the legal status of PKK members, though the government has not publicly set out final terms.