Türkiye hopes the new agreement in Syria will advance efforts for stability based on territorial integrity and unity, the Turkish Foreign Ministry said Sunday after Damascus announced a truce and integration agreement with the YPG/SDF terror group.
"We hope it is fully understood that Syria's future lies not in terrorism or division, but in unity and integration,” the ministry said in a statement.
The SDF is dominated by the terrorist group YPG, the Syrian branch of the PKK, which has waged a decadeslong terror campaign that killed 40,000 people in Türkiye. Ankara, which has been an ally of the new Syrian government following the ouster of Bashar Assad, is currently leading an initiative to end PKK terrorism and dissolve the group. The Turkish military has struck PKK/YPG targets in northern Syria between 2016 and 2019.
The ministry noted that the new period that began in Syria on Dec. 8, 2024, seen as an exceptional opportunity for the country to achieve a prosperous future, has reached a critical stage as of today.
It underlined the importance of recognizing realities on the ground and voiced hope that all groups and individuals in Syria now fully understand that the country's future lies not in terrorism and division but in unity, cohesion and integration.
Türkiye will continue to support the Syrian government's counterterrorism efforts carried out with an inclusive and unifying approach based on the consent of the people, as well as its work toward the reconstruction of the country, the statement added.
Turkish Vice President Cevdet Yılmaz also said in a statement on Turkish social media platform NSosyal that the agreement is a hopeful step for the future, and Ankara will closely monitor the process regarding the implementation of its provisions.
"We hope that in the coming period the parties will stabilize the process by adhering to their commitments, and that the structures formed with external support in the absence of central authority and carried over from the previous period will come to an end," Yılmaz said.
He added that with the implementation of the agreement, trade, oil and other resources can be used for Syria's development rather than to fuel further turmoil.
Türkiye will keep backing inclusive efforts to strengthen Syria's central authority, Yılmaz said, stressing that Turkish-Kurdish-Arab solidarity is the strongest answer to destabilizing actors.
Syrian President Ahmad al-Sharaa unveiled earlier Sunday sweeping measures to restore state authority following weeklong clashes in Syria’s northeast.
The deal follows days of rapid military and political developments, including local uprisings, defections from YPG/SDF ranks and advancing Syrian army operations across Raqqa, Deir ez-Zor and surrounding areas.
According to SANA news agency, the agreement lays out a framework combining an immediate ceasefire with administrative, military and institutional reintegration of the SDF under Damascus' authority.
The agreement provides for an immediate and comprehensive ceasefire across all fronts between Syrian government forces and the SDF.
As an initial step, all YPG/SDF military formations will withdraw east of the Euphrates River, allowing Syrian army units to redeploy into former contact zones.
The governorates of Deir ez-Zor and Raqqa will be placed under full administrative and military control of the Syrian government, including all civil institutions, with Damascus pledging not to pursue SDF fighters or civil administration personnel.
In Hasakah, civilian institutions run by the SDF-affiliated administration will be absorbed into Syria’s official framework.
Control of all border crossings and major oil and gas fields in northeastern Syria will transfer to the government, with regular forces securing energy infrastructure.
SDF members will be integrated individually into the defense and interior ministries following vetting, receiving official ranks and entitlements, while respecting Kurdish social and cultural particularities.
Former Assad regime remnants are barred from SDF ranks.
A presidential decree will appoint a governor for Hasakah, while in Ayn al-Arab (Kobani), heavy deployments will be removed and security handled by local forces and police linked to the Interior Ministry.
Responsibility for Daesh detainees and camps will transfer to Damascus.
The SDF will remove all non-Syrian PKK members, while Syria reaffirms its commitment to fighting Daesh and facilitating the safe return of displaced residents to areas including Afrin and Sheikh Maqsoud.