Turkiye’s Defence Minister, Yasar Guler, emphasized the need to dismantle Kurdish groups PKK/YPG in Syria during a statement on Sunday, as reported by Anadolu Ajansi. Guler mentioned that Turkiye has been in contact with the United States about the dismantling of these groups.
“Our primary issue in Syria is the dismantling of the PKK/YPG terrorist organization. We have expressed this to our American friends. We expect them to reassess their position,” said Guler.
He further stated that Turkiye has neutralized 2,939 terrorists since the start of the year.
“With the operations we have carried out, we have neutralized 2,939 terrorists, including those in northern Iraq and Syria, since the beginning of this year,” he said.
According to Anadolu Ajansi, Guler also emphasized Turkiye’s stance on the Kurdish population in the region, stating, “We have no problem with our Kurdish brothers and sisters living in Iraq and Syria. Our problem is only and solely with the terrorists.”
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Guler added that protecting Syria’s territorial integrity remains Turkiye’s top priority.
Earlier, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken confirmed that the US is in direct contact with the Syrian rebel group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), which has taken control of Damascus after overthrowing the two-decade rule of President Bashar al-Assad.
Blinken also reaffirmed the US’s commitment to locating Austin Tice, an American journalist who has been missing in Syria since 2012.
“We’ve been in contact with HTS and with other parties. We have impressed upon everyone we’ve been in contact with the importance of helping find Austin Tice and bringing him home,” he told reporters in Jordan.
“We’ve also shared the principles that I just laid out for our ongoing support – principles, again, that have now been adopted by countries throughout the region and well beyond. And we’ve communicated those,” Blinken added.
Syria’s rebel forces, led by Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, entered Damascus, forcing President Bashar al-Assad to flee the country, ending his more than two-decade rule.
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