Türkiye will not meet Ferhat Abdi Şahin, the leader of the PKK terrorist group’s Syrian offshoot, the YPG, diplomatic sources said Saturday, dismissing a report in a U.S.-based news platform.
Al-Monitor wrote Türkiye was mulling a meeting with the YPG leader after an announcement from the PKK to disarm and disband.
“The claims about Türkiye and its officials are not correct,” sources said in response.
The YPG carved out a so-called autonomous administration for itself in Syria’s northeast, opposite the Turkish border, as the country was mired in civil war. Over time, it found widespread support from the United States under the pretext of a joint fight against Daesh, another terrorist group which once controlled several towns in Syria’s north.
Türkiye, which suffered from cross-border attacks by the YPG, supported the Syrian opposition through military offensives in Syria’s north in the past decade and liberated parts of northern Syria from the YPG's grip.
After the fall of the Assad regime that effectively ended the civil war, the YPG remained the only major armed group not joining anti-regime forces led by interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa.
Damascus shunned an open conflict with the YPG and sought a deal for their integration into the new Syrian army.
In March, al-Sharaa and Şahin signed a deal for the integration of YPG members into the army. They are expect to cement the deal soon, after another upcoming meeting in Damascus.
Türkiye is a major supporter of the al-Sharaa-led administration and also backs the March deal.
Yet, a recent gathering in Syria where YPG members voiced “a decentralized system” in the country, raised Turkish concerns, while Damascus strongly opposed the concept, which amounts to the disintegration of the country.
This month, Syrian Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shaibani warned that "the unity of Syrian territory is non-negotiable," adding that any delays in implementing the agreement with the YPG would "prolong the chaos" in the country.
Türkiye says it is closely monitoring the deal in the context of maintaining regional stability and security.
