Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan hosted his Syrian counterpart, Asaad Hassan al-Shaibani, in Ankara on Thursday as the two neighboring countries continue to deepen relations following the collapse of the Baathist regime in 2024. Their talks eventually turned to the YPG, the Syrian wing of the PKK terrorist group, which has killed thousands of people across Türkiye since the 1980s.
At a joint news conference with al-Shaibani, Fidan underlined that improvements in the security of Damascus and Aleppo were "felt as far as Gaziantep, Mersin and Istanbul," adding that "destabilizing developments anywhere in Syria also pose a threat to Türkiye."
"In this context, it is paramount for Türkiye that the ongoing integration process in Syria should not be interrupted. It is essential for all armed groups and so-called entities to be integrated into a centralized and legitimate national structure, both for the unity of Syria and the stability of our region," he said.
During the Syrian civil war, the YPG, then openly backed by the U.S., launched attacks targeting Turkish border towns. In response, Türkiye launched cross-border military operations and supported the Syrian opposition during the Assad era to drive the YPG out of areas it occupied in northern Syria.
