Turkey will do 'whatever it takes' if Syria can't address Kurd militia issue, FM says

Turkey will do "whatever it takes" to ensure its security if the new Syrian administration cannot address Ankara's concerns about U.S.-allied Kurdish groups it views as terrorist groups, Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan said on Saturday. Turkey regards the YPG, the militant group spearheading the U.S.-allied Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), as an extension of the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK), which has fought an insurgency against the Turkish state for 40 years and are deemed terrorists by Ankara, Washington, and the European Union. Hostilities have escalated since the toppling of Bashar al-Assad. In an interview with France 24, Fidan said Ankara's preferred option was for the new administration in Damascus to address the problem in line with Syria's territorial unity, sovereignty and integrity, adding that the YPG should be disbanded immediately. He also said Turkey was not in favor of any foreign bases, including Russian ones, remaining in Syria, but that the choice was up to the Syrian people.
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