An official with the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) said on Friday the militant group would agree to leave northeastern Syria if the U.S.-allied Kurdish Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) maintains a significant joint leadership role there.
A member of Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) stands along a street, after rebels seized the capital and ousted Syria's Bashar al-Assad, in Hasakah, Syria December 11, 2024. Reuters/Orhan Qereman
An official with the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) said on Friday the militant group would agree to leave northeastern Syria if the U.S.-allied Kurdish Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) maintains a significant joint leadership role there.
"Any initiative resulting in the governance of northeastern Syria under the control of the SDF, or in which they have a significant role in joint leadership, will lead us to agree to leave the region," the official at the group's political office in northern Iraq said.
The PKK is considered a terrorist group by Turkey, the United States and Europe. It has fought a separatist insurgency against the Turkish state for 40 years and more than 40,000 people have been killed in the conflict.
After the ousting of president Bashar Al-Assad in Damascus last month, Ankara has threatened to crush the Syrian Kurdish YPG militia, which is a part of the SDF that it says is an extension of the PKK.
Ankara has said the SDF must be disbanded and all senior PKK members ousted from Syria or it will strike, prompting negotiations over the future of the SDF, which is the main U.S. ally in the fight against Islamic State in northeastern Syria.
Washington has called for a "managed transition" for its Kurdish allies and the SDF commander has said any PKK members would leave Syria if Turkey agrees a ceasefire.
In a written statement, the PKK official said that if the group leaves Syria it would continue monitoring from afar and will act against Turkish forces or moves as needed.
"The future of Syria will be determined after the 20th of this month, once Trump assumes power," the official said, referring to U.S. President-elect Donald Trump's inauguration on Monday.
Editing by Toby Chopra
Tehran has informed intermediaries that Lebanon and Hezbollah must be included in any ceasefire agreement with the United States and Israel, according to regional sources familiar with Iran's position.
Kuwait's Interior Ministry has announced the dismantling of a 20-member terrorist network linked to Hezbollah, including Kuwaiti, Iranian, Lebanese and other nationals. Six suspects have been arrested while 14 others fled abroad.
U.S. President Donald Trump said Iran was desperate to make a deal to end nearly four weeks of fighting, contradicting the Iranian foreign minister who said his country was reviewing a U.S. proposal but had no intention of holding talks to wind down the conflict.
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