SDF denies Erdogan meeting, signals openness to dialogue

Shafaq News/ The Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) denied on Saturday reports that its commander Mazloum Abdi had been offered a meeting with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, while reaffirming limited indirect contacts and a willingness to engage in talks under the right conditions.

The statement rejected claims by regional sources to Al-Monitor that Turkish officials had proposed such a meeting. “The information is false. Neither our leadership nor any delegation from northern and eastern Syria in meetings with Damascus has received an offer for talks with the Turkish side from any party,” the SDF said.

The SDF and Turkiye have long been on opposite sides of Syria’s fragmented war and peace efforts. The SDF—primarily made up of Kurdish fighters from the People’s Protection Units (YPG)—was Washington’s main ground partner in the fight against ISIS. It controls a vast swath of northern and eastern Syria, including areas rich in oil, water, and agricultural resources.

Turkiye, meanwhile, sees the SDF as an extension of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), which Ankara and its Western allies classify as a terrorist organization. Turkiye fears the emergence of an autonomous Kurdish region on its southern border could embolden separatist sentiments among its own Kurdish population.

Abdi confirmed in a televised interview earlier today that direct and indirect communication channels exist between the SDF and Turkiye. He revealed that a temporary ceasefire has been in place between the two sides for about two months—signaling a rare lull in cross-border clashes.

While reaffirming that the SDF is not at war with Turkiye, Abdi stated he would be willing to meet Erdogan if such talks “served regional stability and recognized the rights of Syria’s diverse communities.”

Since 2016, Turkiye has launched four major incursions into northern Syria, aiming to push back SDF fighters and create a buffer zone. These offensives have displaced hundreds of thousands of civilians and left a patchwork of Turkish-controlled enclaves along the border.

The SDF, meanwhile, administers the self-declared Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria (AANES). It has been engaged in delicate balancing acts—holding talks with the Syrian government, seeking recognition for Kurdish rights, and retaining ties with the US-led Global Coalition.