The fate of the US-backed Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) in Syria’s new political landscape may soon be sealed, Reuters reported.
Weeks of intensive talks between US, Turkish, and Syrian diplomatic and military negotiators have been making headway, sources told the outlet. They claimed that an accord was in the pipeline that would ensure the integration of some Kurdish fighters into Syrian Armed Forces, while others would abandon their positions in the northeast.
The departure of "foreign fighters" is essential for Syria's stability, a Turkish Foreign Ministry source said, adding that the talks were "hugely complex."
Turkiye considers the Kurdish People's Protection Units (YPG), the backbone of the SDF, to be an affiliate of the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), which is designated as a terrorist organization by Ankara.
Syria’s new defense minister, Murhaf Abu Qasra, has insisted that Kurdish fighters be completely “integrated within the hierarchy” of the ministry, as quoted by Reuters.
However, Mazloum Abdi, commander of the SDF alliance that controls a large part of Syria's oil-rich north-east, told the channel Asharq News earlier that his forces would agree to integrate with the ministry of defense as a decentralized “military bloc.”
Turkiye has threatened to launch a military operation against Kurdish forces in Syria unless they disband.
As for the US, incoming President Donald Trump, he is yet to make any official statement about his plans for some 2,000 US troops present on Syrian territory without any legal justification.