New Syrian Authorities Demand Kurdish Fighters Lay Down Arms

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan previously stated that Turkiye would not accept members of the PKK, designated terrorist by Ankara, as legitimmate representatives of Syrian Kurds. Meanwhile, PKK leader Abdullah Ocalan, currently serving a life sentence on Turkiye's Imrali Island, during a meeting with members of pro-Kurdish DEM party last week expressed his willingness to take a "positive step" toward resolving the Kurdish issue in the country.

Two meetings have taken place between the new Syrian authorities and representatives of the PKK, who reportedly sought recognition as a division or corps within the official Syrian army in exchange for disarmament. The new Syrian authorities did not accept any conditions, the Turkish newspaper said.

Turkiye's conflict with the PKK started in 1984 and resumed in 2015. Turkiye launched operations Olive Branch and Peace Spring in Syria in 2018 and 2019, and Operation Claw-Lock in Iraq in 2022 despite protests from Damascus and Baghdad. Ankara insisted that the operations were aimed at protecting its borders from security threats posed by Kurdish militia.

Syria's armed opposition captured Damascus on December 8. Syrian President Bashar Assad stepped down after negotiations with participants in the Syrian conflict and left Syria for Russia, where he was granted asylum, the Russian Foreign Ministry said. Mohammed al-Bashir, who ran an Idlib-based administration formed by Hayat Tahrir al-Sham and other opposition groups, was named interim prime minister on December 10. He announced that an interim government had been formed and would remain in place until March 2025.