US, Turkey discussing fate of Kurdish ‘foreign fighters’ in Syria: Blinken

ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said on Wednesday that they are working closely with their NATO ally Turkey to find a resolution to Turkey’s “legitimate concerns” in Syria which could require the departure of the “foreign members” of the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF). 

“We've been working very closely as well with our ally, our partner in Turkey, which has very legitimate concerns, of course, about PKK, about terrorism to navigate this transition,” Blinken said during a joint presser with his French counterpart in Paris, referring to the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK).

Turkey claims that there are PKK members within the ranks of the People’s Protection Units (YPG), the backbone of the US-backed SDF. 

Blinken added Washington and Ankara are working on navigating the transition “in a way that I think leads to a resolution of any of those concerns, including over time with the integration of the Syrian Democratic Forces into Syrian national forces, including with the departure of foreign members of that force to their own countries, including with the resolution of questions around oil, and borders, etc.” 

A coalition of rebel groups, spearheaded by Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), launched an offensive late November, toppling Bashar al-Assad’s regime. The country is navigating a transitional phase.

The Turkish foreign minister warned on Tuesday that Ankara plans to carry out a fresh military operation against northeast Syria (Rojava) if the alleged cadres of the PKK do not leave the country, adding that they have given a deadline to the Kurdish authorities through Western countries, including Americans. 

“We have given an ultimatum to the YPG through Americans and the West,” he said, adding that “The PKK cadres, who carry the international characteristics and came from Turkey, Iraq and Iran, have to leave [Syria]. They have to leave and they know this. To be honest, we do not see any preparation and intention in this regard. We are waiting,” 

The issue of the alleged presence of PKK cadres in Rojava has recently resurfaced. The new government in Damascus and Ankara have called for their departure. 

The PKK has repeatedly said that it has no presence in Rojava, elaborating that they entered the Kurdish enclave in 2014 to defend it from the Islamic State (ISIS) attacks and returned to their bases. 

Mazloum Abdi, SDF chief, has also said several times that the PKK no longer exists in Rojava. 

United Nations Special Envoy to Syria Geir Pedersen informed the Security Council during a briefing on Wednesday that Turkey has indicated its intention to intensify the conflict with the SDF.

“Despite a US brokered ceasefire near Manbij in December, there have been reports of clashes and exchanges of artillery fire between the SDF and Syrian National Army forces in particular. Türkiye has made statements indicating a clear possibility that Turkish military operations could intensify in the northeast,” he said.

The SNA, with the support of Ankara, controlled Manbij and Tal Rifaat in northern Syria after weeks of clashes with the SDF, days after the collapse of Assad’s regime. 

Turkey considers the YPG the Syrian offshoot of the PKK - a Kurdish group which has waged a decades-long armed conflict against the Turkish state. Ankara has designated both as terrorist groups. 

Updated at 10:45 pm

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