By Tuvan Gumrukcu
ANKARA (Reuters) -The Kurdish YPG militia, which spearheads the U.S.-backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), should stop “playing for time” and abide by its integration agreement with the Syrian government, Turkey’s Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan said on Wednesday.
NATO-member Turkey has been one of Syria’s main foreign allies after the ousting of Bashar al-Assad last year.
The SDF, which controls much of northeast Syria, signed an agreement with Damascus in March to integrate into the Syrian state apparatus. Ankara considers both the SDF and YPG as terrorist organisations.
“Turkey will not be comfortable unless its security concerns in Syria are addressed,” Fidan told a joint press conference with his Syrian counterpart Asaad al-Shibani in Ankara.
“Our sole concern is that all ethnic and religious groups in Syria continue their existence without posing a threat to any country, without having armed, terrorist elements on their territory, within the unity and integrity of Syria,” Fidan said.
“A new era has begun in the region and there’s a new process in Turkey. They should benefit from those positive developments,” Fidan said, referring to the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) militant group’s decision to disband and disarm.
Turkey views the YPG as a PKK extension but the YPG has previously said Ocalan’s call did not apply to it, contradicting Ankara’s view.
The SDF has been in conflict with Turkey-backed Syrian armed groups in northern Syria for years.
(Reporting by Tuvan Gumrukcu, Writing by Huseyin Hayatsever; Editing by Daren Butler, Alexandra Hudson)
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