The United States and Germany on Tuesday said they understand Türkiye’s security concerns on its border with Syria in connection with threats from PKK/YPG terrorist group.
"We understand that Türkiye has legitimate security concerns along that border. Turkish citizens, Turkish towns, Turkish cities have come under attack by terrorists from across that border," White House National Security Council Spokesperson John Kirby told reporters.
"They absolutely have a legitimate right to be able to defend themselves against terrorist attacks. We understand that, and we are in active conversations with the Turks about how we do that, how they do that," Kirby added.
He said the U.S. does not want to see their operations of a nature that compels their YPG partners to focus on things other than the counter-Daesh mission.
Kirby said the U.S. presence in Syria aims to prevent Daesh from regrouping in the wake of regime leader Bashar Assad's exit in December.
"That's what we're focused on now. We conduct that mission," he said, adding that the U.S. partnership with the PKK/YPG will continue.
Germany separately called for an end to terrorist group PKK's activities in Syria, emphasizing that Syrian territory should not pose security threats to Türkiye.
Germany's Syria coordinator Tobias Lindner told local media that Berlin understands Türkiye's legitimate security interests and hopes that Ankara's concerns should be addressed through political dialogue.
"I want to make it very clear: The PKK is a terrorist organization, also from Germany's perspective, and the PKK militants in northern Syria must understand that we are now in a different situation than before the fall of Bashar al-Assad," Lindner told Table Media.
"Syria must not be used as an area of operations for the PKK to carry out attacks against Türkiye. A very clear distinction must be made between the PKK and the 'Syrian Kurds' in the north," he added.
The German diplomat said Western countries maintain constant dialogue with Ankara regarding developments in Syria.
"We are doing everything we can to ensure that Türkiye acts in concert with us, but there is no guarantee of this," he said, when asked about a possible Turkish military operation against the PKK structures in northern Syria.
Lindner said Berlin shares the view that all armed groups in Syria should join Syria's new government security forces.
"The goal must be that all militias in Syria, not just the 'Kurdish' ones, will ultimately be integrated into the Syrian armed forces. We are working on that," he said.
"What is important to us now is that there is an orderly and inclusive process. There must be verifiable steps and milestones – an important point here is the question of women's participation. And Kurds, Druze, Alawites and Christians, like all other Syrians, must also see themselves in this process," Lindner said.
The German diplomat also emphasized Syria's territorial integrity and stated that all regional actors, including Israel, are expected to respect these boundaries.
The PKK has waged a terror campaign against Türkiye since 1984, initially with the aim of establishing a so-called Kurdish state in the southeast of the country.
The conflict between the terrorists and state forces, which has spread beyond Türkiye's borders into Iraq and Syria, has killed tens of thousands of people. The PKK is proscribed to be a terror group by Türkiye, the United States and the European Union.
The YPG is PKK's U.S.-backed Syrian offshoot and has occupied northeast Syria for the past decade.
The terrorist PKK/YPG has sought to exploit the uncertainty since the Assad regime's fall to step up efforts to establish a "terrorist corridor" along the border with Türkiye.
