Turkey will do 'whatever it takes' if Syria gov't can't address Kurd militia

22/12/2024 12:18

Turkey will do "whatever it takes" to ensure its security if the new Syrian administration cannot address Ankara's concerns about U.S.-allied Kurdish groups it views as terrorist groups, Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan said on Saturday.



Turkey regards the YPG, the militant group spearheading the U.S.-allied Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), as an extension of the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) militants who have fought an insurgency against the Turkish state for 40 years and are deemed terrorists by Ankara, Washington, and the European Union.



Hostilities have escalated since the toppling of Bashar al-Assad less than two weeks ago, with Turkey and Syrian groups it backs seizing the city of Manbij from the SDF on Dec. 9. Assad's fall has left the Kurdish factions on the back foot as they seek to retain political gains made in the last 13 years.



In an interview with France 24, Fidan said Ankara's preferred option was for the new administration in Damascus to address the problem in line with Syria's territorial unity, sovereignty, and integrity, adding that the YPG should be disbanded immediately.