Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan held talks with Syrian President Ahmed Al-Sharaa at the Dolmabahce Palace in Istanbul on Saturday, according to Reuters.
Al-Sharaa’s visit follows President Donald Trump’s orders to effectively lift sanctions on Syria.
The talks witnessed the presence of the two countries’ foreign and defense ministers, as well as and the head of the Turkish MIT intelligence agency.
Accelerating Kurds Integration
Last week, Erdoğan said that the new Syrian government should keep focused on its deal with the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), urging Damascus to integrate Kurds into the newly restructured Syrian Armed Forces.
“We are especially following the YPG issue very, very closely. It is important for the Damascus administration not to take its attention away from this issue,” Erdogan told reporters on a flight from Budapest.
Syrian Foreign Minister Asaad Al-Shaibani has recently urged Kurdish-led forces to swiftly integrate into the Syrian state warning that postponing this step would “prolong the chaos” in the country.
The minister’s remarks came as the Kurdistan Workers’ Party, or PKK, announced that it was disbanding, a move described by Al-Shaibani as “a pivotal moment” for regional stability.
Important Agreement
In March, Al-Sharaa and SDF Chief Mazloum Abdi signed an agreement to integrate the civil and military institutions of Kurds into the Syrian government.
However, the deal has not stopped the Kurdish administration from criticizing the new authorities. For example, they criticized the formation of a new government and a recent constitutional declaration that placed executive power in the hands of interim President Al-Sharaa.
In this regard, Abdi called for “a new decentralized constitution that includes all components” of society.
No Decentralization
As a response, Syria has rejected the Kurdish demand for a decentralized state and warned against any call for separatism, AFP reported.
“We reject clearly any attempt to impose a separatist reality or to create separate entities under the cover of federalism… without a national consensus,” the presidency said in a statement in which it also condemned “the recent activities and declarations” of the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) that “call for federalism,” Syrian Presidency said.
Furthermore, Turkey has rejected any plans that may undermine Syria’s central government or threaten its sovereignty and territorial integrity, according to Reuters.
“Turkiye does not accept any initiative that targets Syria’s territorial integrity, that will damage its sovereignty, or that allows weapons to be carried by others not in the Syrian central authority,” a Turkish Foreign Ministry source said.
Erdogan also said that decentralization demands in Syria were “nothing more than a raw dream.”
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