Politics

Damascus and Ankara discuss Syria’s key Kurdish question

Syria’s interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa and Turkish President Recep Tayyib Erdoğan are both concerned about Kurdish separatism for slightly different reasons. What will they do about it?

OZAN KOSE / AFP

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan (R) and Syria's interim president Ahmed al-Sharaa shake hands during a joint press conference following their meeting at the Presidential Palace in Ankara on February 4, 2025.

Damascus and Ankara discuss Syria’s key Kurdish question

Omer Onhon

last update on 06 Feb 2025

Shortly after Ahmed al-Sharaa was confirmed as Syria’s interim president, he went to Ankara to meet Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, brought there by a Turkish presidential jet. It was only al-Sharaa’s second official foreign visit. The two men met one-on-one, followed by a meeting of delegations. The joint press conference was brief, with no questions taken. Security and the economy were central issues.

Erdoğan said they “discussed steps to be taken against the separatist terrorist organisation (Kurdish YPG) occupying north-eastern Syria" and that Türkiye would support Syria against the YPG, including by helping to control the camps where Islamic State (IS) fighters are being held. He also said that Türkiye stood ready to support the reconstruction of Syria and called on the Arab and Islamic world to do likewise. He also urged that Western sanctions be lifted.

In return, al-Sharaa had warm words for Türkiye and expressed his desire “to transform relations... into a deep strategic cooperation in every field”.

It was interesting that al-Sharaa also called on the international community to press Israel to return to the 1967 borders, something that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu shows no willingness to do.

OZAN KOSE / AFP — Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan (R) and Syria's interim president Ahmed al-Sharaa hold a joint press conference following their meeting at the Presidential Palace in Ankara on February 4, 2025.

A friend of Türkiye

Ahmed al-Sharaa has long been based in Idlib province, which borders Türkiye, so he has a long history with Syria’s northern neighbour, going back to when he was known by his nom de guerre and dressed in military fatigues.

Türkiye was the anti-Assad fighters’ essential gateway to the outside world. Al-Sharaa is therefore indebted to Türkiye, not least for the help that Ankara gave ahead of the operation that finally ousted his predecessor, Bashar al-Assad. But beyond this, there are common concerns and interests which call for cooperation.

For reasons that include geography, Türkiye will play an important role in Syria’s recovery. In addition to being Syria’s main trading partner, its experience and skills in construction will be vital in the coming years.

Yet Syria is also part of the Arab world, and al-Sharaa would like money from the Gulf states for reconstruction. To this end, al-Sharaa’s first official visit abroad was to Riyadh, and the first foreign leader he hosted in Damascus was Qatar’s Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani. So far, he is treading a fine line, being careful to avoid sensitivities on all sides.

But not everyone is comfortable. Egypt and the United Arab Emirates, for instance, are said to be uneasy owing to al-Sharaa’s jihadist background and are holding back.

Turkish-backed Syrian groups are deployed near Kurdish-controlled areas, and there have been sporadic clashes, especially in the vicinity of the Tishrin Dam

Starting from scratch

Al-Sharaa's task list is ominous. Priorities include avoiding sectarian animosity and revenge-motivated actions, as well as tackling economic hardship. He and his team are working to maintain security while establishing a new state system, given that the army, security services, parliament, and long-ruling Ba'ath Party have all been dismantled, and the constitution is set to be rewritten.

Al-Sharaa has a plan to restore state systems and institutions, up to and including free elections, but no timelines have been set, and all the preparation work is to be done by committees whose members he will appoint. A few days ago, he said that the transition period he will lead is slated to take 4 to 5 years.

Al-Sharaa is described as a man with political ambitions who can be flexible and pragmatic yet who can also get rid of those whom he considers a liability, regardless of past relations. His statements about the country's future are reasonable and positive, but time will tell whether he means what he says.

Syria's Kurds

One of the most important issues in the process of building a new Syria is what will become of the 2-3 million Syrian Kurds who were oppressed by al-Assad's regime. Many did not have Syrian citizenship or even an identity card.

From 2011, Kurdish followers of Abdullah Öcalan—currently serving a life sentence in Türkiye—established an armed force, the YPG, which was empowered by US train-and-equip programmes. The YPG now controls around 30% of Syria (in the north and east) and currently seeks to retain its gains in the post-Assad era.

Although YPG head Mazloum Abdi says he has no intention of breaking up Syria and is committed to the country's territorial integrity, it remains to be seen whether his forces are willing to compromise. The interim authorities in Damascus, including al-Sharaa, are now in discussions with the YPG, which controls the oil fields (and therefore the revenues from it) but have so far failed to reach an agreement.

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Türkiye's red lines

Currently, Turkish-backed Syrian groups are deployed near Kurdish-controlled areas, and there have been sporadic clashes, especially in the vicinity of the Tishrin Dam. Türkiye sees a YPG presence just beyond its borders as a strategic threat. Ankara would rather see the group disbanded. Efforts to wind down the PKK by Erdoğan ally Devlet Bahçeli are seen as separate.

The Turkish foreign minister has demanded that non-Syrian YPG militants leave Syria. The same demand has been made of the YPG's top leaders, whether Syrian or not. He did not say where he felt they should go.

In a speech on 30 December, al-Sharaa listed one of his priorities as "completing the unity of Syrian lands, all of Syria, and imposing its sovereignty under one authority and on one land". This was widely seen as a message to Syria's autonomy-seeking Kurds, who have enjoyed a decade of support from the Americans.

A lot will come down to the new US President, Donald Trump. His distaste for US foreign military involvement is well-known, and Türkiye is a NATO ally, yet he may also be guided by US generals, who feel the Kurds have been a dependable ally in the fight against IS. As ever in the Middle East, much remains to be seen.

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