On the first anniversary of the Syrian revolution, the U.S.-backed terrorist group YPG still sticks out as a main challenge for the new administration in Damascus. Although post-Baathist administration reached out to the group, which is the Syrian wing of the PKK, no tangible steps were seen in their agreement signed on March 10. The YPG still insists on federalism and decentralization in Syria, but it won’t happen, according to a Syrian minister.
Speaking to Anadolu Agency (AA) on Sunday, Syrian Minister of Information Hamza al-Mustafa said Mazloum Abdi (alias of Ferhat Abdi Şahin, leader of the YPG) was engaged in “a final game,” but that Syria would not be decentralized as he called for. “We have no alternative to the March 10 deal,” he said.
The deal involves integrating the YPG into the Syrian security forces. The YPG was initially warm to the deal and even agreed to withdraw from its self-styled duties for security in some parts of northeastern Syria where it maintains so-called self-rule. Yet, the terrorist group insisted on more rights for Kurds, namely federalism, a move that threatens to disrupt the relative peace Syria maintained after the end of the civil war.
“The March 10 agreement is a historic opportunity, but the YPG failed to fulfill its commitments so far,” al-Mustafa said. He accused the YPG of stalling the process to buy more time. “But they are making a grave mistake. The deal was a good option for Abdi,” he said.
The YPG relies on the U.S., which extensively supported the group under the guise of a joint fight against the terrorist group Daesh in northern Syria. The U.S. still has troops and outposts in areas controlled by the YPG. Al-Mustafa, however, says that the U.S. may not stay longer in Syria and would eventually withdraw as it did in Afghanistan.
The Syrian minister said incidents in Suwayda led the YPG to shift its policy to wait and see instead of complying with the deal. “Abdi adopted an Orientalist rhetoric about Druzes and Alawites,” he said. Suwayda has seen clashes between Bedouin tribes and Druze groups after the revolution, and tensions in the Syrian province only eased after a July cease-fire. Incidents laid bare lingering social tensions in the post-Assad country and are viewed by opponents of the new administration as a major test for the approach toward minorities and ethnic groups.
Al-Mustafa also lamented that Abdi preferred to visit Irbil (seat of Iraq’s Kurdistan Regional Government) instead of “coming to Damascus to complete the deal” and said this was the result of “pressure (on Abdi) by some European countries.” But it was a political miscalculation,” the minister said.
“We clearly told him that he should announce that he is unable to honor the deal if he can’t. They cannot present new conditions. (The YPG’s) Integration should be complete, both politically and militarily,” al-Mustafa said.
The minister also said that the U.S. had changed its position on Syria. “The state is the only power, only capable power to fight Daesh, and it is the main element of regional stability,” he said, implying that Washington may choose Damascus over the YPG for the fight against Daesh.
The YPG’s existence as a terrorist group is a dire concern for Syria’s northern neighbor, Türkiye, which suffered from attacks carried out by YPG-linked terrorists in the past. Turkish towns on the Syrian border were also direct targets of multiple rocket attacks by the YPG during the Syrian civil war.
Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan on Saturday criticized the YPG’s failure to integrate into the Syrian army.
Speaking during a "Newsmaker Interview" session at the 23rd Doha Forum in the Qatari capital Doha, Fidan pointed out that the YPG operated under the umbrella of the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) in Syria.
"We know that the SDF has certain elements who are actually solely positioned to fight against Türkiye. So, to start, we want non-Syrian elements from SDF, the elements from Iraq, Iran and Türkiye, to leave," Fidan stated immediately.
Syria, he said, has always been a country of critical importance to Türkiye, noting that developments in Syria or Iraq are immediately felt within Türkiye.
"All the capacity and the units which have been positioned against Türkiye's interests and security should be abolished," Fidan further added.
Fidan added that Iran and Russia strongly backed the Syrian regime, that 2016-2017 were extremely difficult years, and that international support for the Syrian opposition eventually faded, leaving Türkiye and Qatar largely alone as the U.S. and West shifted toward aiding the PKK.
He noted that both Ankara and Damascus have consistently conveyed their expectations to the SDF, adding that the group and the Syrian government may reach their own arrangement as a sovereign decision by Damascus.
He said the SDF's talks with the regime are complex, given the effort to integrate tens of thousands of fighters, and stressed that the process requires good faith and a shared vision. Fidan warned that if the SDF pursues only a symbolic process to appear engaged with the international community without taking real steps, it will not be credible, stressing that Türkiye expects genuine engagement from both sides.
On the question of whether Abdullah Öcalan, the jailed ringleader of the PKK terrorist group, can play a role in the YPG’s integration in Syria, Fidan said he can. “But I am not certain if he wants to or whether he would like to play this role as leverage,” he said. Türkiye currently pursues the “terror-free Türkiye” initiative for the disarmament of the PKK. The initiative took a significant turn when Öcalan complied with a call by a government ally and urged the PKK in February to dissolve itself. The YPG has not accepted the call so far, while the PKK’s members in Iraq began abandoning weapons last summer.
