ISTANBUL: Türkiye's ruling AK Party welcomes the dissolution of the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces as an important step towards strengthening Syrian unity, a spokesman for President Tayyip Erdogan's party said on Wednesday. Nato member Türkiye has emerged as one of the main allies of neighbouring Syria's President Ahmed al-Sharaa after he toppled Bashar al-Assad's decades-long rule. Ankara has vowed to help Damascus rebuild the country and restructure its state institutions and armed forces, and it has provided Damascus with political and diplomatic support.
"An important threshold was passed in terms of strengthening Syria's internal unity with the dissolution of the SDF," AK Party spokesman Omer Celik wrote on X, adding Ankara supported Syria's sovereignty and territorial integrity. The announcement by SDF commander Mazloum Abdi of the group's dissolution and integration into Syria's armed forces under an agreement with Damascus comes amid peace efforts in Türkiye with the outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) militant group, which Ankara views as linked to the SDF. In February 2025, jailed PKK leader Abdullah Ocalan called on his group to disarm and disband, and it announced in May 2025 that it would do so. — Reuters
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