Turkey and SDF hold direct talks under US mediation

Turkey and the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) held direct talks on Syria’s future last week, with US facilitation, sources familiar with the issue told Middle East Eye.

The parties discussed the US withdrawal from Syria, as well as the handover of prisons and camps holding Islamic State fighters and their families, the sources said.

The meeting, attended by mid-level officials from both sides, also focused on how to integrate the SDF into a new Syrian military under Damascus’s command.

Although Ankara insiders believe there have been some contacts between Turkey and the SDF since last year, this is the first formal meeting between the parties to be revealed that also included US participation.

The SDF, a US partner force against IS since 2014, is led by groups linked to the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), which is designated as a terrorist organisation by Turkey, the US, and the EU.

Ankara and the PKK had been working on a so-called peace deal since last year. The PKK, following a call from its imprisoned leader Abdullah Ocalan in February, announced it would end its armed struggle and disband.

As part of this initiative, SDF leader Mazloum Abdi, reportedly Ocalan’s adopted son during his time in Syria in the 1990s, signed a landmark deal with Syrian President Ahmed Sharaa in March, pledging to join the central government.

However, since then, the SDF and other Kurdish political entities have called for a federation rather than a unitary state in Syria. Federation remains a red line for Ankara.

'Direct ties'

In recent months, the SDF and Syrian government forces have engaged in minor skirmishes near the Tishreen Dam, but recent reports suggest progress has been made in exchanging prisoners of war and allowing a Damascus delegation to inspect IS camps last month.

The sources told MEE that the trilateral meeting was significant, as it indicates coordination between parties that had competing agendas less than a year ago.

Abdi, in a statement to the regional broadcaster Shams TV on Friday, confirmed his group was in contact with Turkey, without disclosing how long the communication channels had been open.

SDF withdraws from key Syrian dam after agreement with Damascus

Read More »

“We have direct ties, direct channels of communication with Turkey, as well as through mediators, and we hope that these ties are developed,” Abdi said.

A US State Department official, on the other hand, told MEE that they do not comment on private diplomatic conversations. 

“We are following the implementation of the March 10 agreement with the SDF and how the details of the agreement are developed,” the official said. “⁠Steps towards the peaceful integration of government forces and the SDF are encouraging signs of progress.”

Last week, Al Monitor reported that Turkey had proposed a meeting between Abdi and a senior Turkish official, possibly the foreign minister or intelligence chief. Turkish foreign ministry sources swiftly denied the report. 

The US has been encouraging the SDF to resolve its differences with Damascus. Thomas Barrack, the US envoy for Turkey and Syria, told Turkish TV channel NTV that the SDF was surviving under the protection of US Central Command.

“I can say that unless there is a major change, the cooperation on our side will eventually disappear,” he said. “So, there is great pressure for everyone to reach an agreement.”

Barrack also said the US was closing down its military bases in Syria, reducing their number from eight to five, with the eventual goal of only one remaining.

Ankara insiders told MEE that while the Turkish government could tolerate an informal autonomous zone -where the SDF could maintain a local security force in Kurdish-majority areas and run local governance with municipal powers - any move toward formal autonomy remains a red line.

MEE reached out to the Turkish government for comment.