ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan claimed on Saturday that the Kurdish People’s Protection Units (YPG), which controls northeast Syria (Rojava), has failed to remove elements that pose a threat to Ankara’s national security.
“The YPG has not yet made any declaration or taken any action indicating that it has abandoned elements that are threats to Turkey's national security. There's nothing about how this will happen,” Fidan told Ulke TV late Saturday.
He added that Ankara-Washington talks continue regarding the future of Syria and Kurdish rule in the country.
"We're also talking with our American friends. As you know, they also talk with the YPG. As we talk with all three sides, it becomes clear who is being rational, who is being irrational, and who is asking for what is reasonable. We've said this repeatedly - for us, the issue is related to our national security,” the Turkish minister noted.
YPG, which is the backbone of the US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), has repeatedly denied posing any threat to Turkey and has been open to dialogue with the neighboring country.
Fidan said the SDF should hand over Arab majority areas it controls to Damascus.
“There was talk of handing over Deir ez-Zor. As you know, Deir ez-Zor is a place where Arabs mostly live… Regarding Deir ez-Zor, there's still no agreement reached on paper. Here we see that the YPG is taking a maximalist stance. This occupying attitude, this colonial attitude needs to be eliminated immediately."
Most of the tribal leaders from the oil-rich province of Deir ez-Zor remain allied with the SDF and hold senior positions within its ranks, despite concerns over poor basic services and other local issues. SDF chief Mazloum Abdi and US commanders have held numerous meetings with the tribal leaders.
Ammar al-Haddawi, a prominent figure from the Sunni Arab al-Uqaydat tribe in Syria’s eastern Deir ez-Zor province, told Rudaw last week that much of his community views administrative decentralization as the “most appropriate choice” for their regions, strongly defending the Kurdish-led administration in northeast and SDF against accusations of separatism.
SDF and the interim government in Damascus signed an agreement in March to integrate Rojava and SDF into the transitional authority. Despite many skirmishes and war of words, both sides met again earlier this week and seemingly reached a new understanding on integration.
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