Erdogan: Syria–SDF deal helps PKK peace track

Shafaq News- Ankara

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Thursday said an agreement between Syria’s government and the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) has eased pressure on Turkiye’s peace process with the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK).

Speaking to reporters, Erdogan clarified that the deal would help strengthen stability in Syria, adding that its implementation could contribute to a “more favorable environment” for peace.

Ankara has long linked its domestic peace efforts with Kurdish militants to developments in northeastern Syria, where it views the SDF as an extension of the PKK, which has fought the Turkish state since 1984 in a conflict that has killed more than 40,000 people.

Turkiye still designates the PKK as a terrorist organization despite the ongoing peace process that aims to dissolve the PKK, disarm its fighters, and integrate them into Turkiye’s political system.

Meanwhile, Syrian security forces this week began deploying to parts of northeastern Syria under a ceasefire agreement reached on January 30 after weeks of escalation between Damascus and the SDF. The deal provides for Interior Ministry forces to enter the centers of Hasakah and Qamishli as part of a phased integration of military, security, and administrative structures. Sources previously told Shafaq News that the integration process is expected to expand to key sites, including oil and gas fields, Qamishli airport, border crossings, and institutions run by the Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria.

Read more: PKK calls it quits: Peace on the horizon in Turkiye?