Turkey engages in secret talks with Syrian Kurds to normalize ties
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Turkey and Syrian Kurdish officials are engaged in secret negotiations to normalize ties and end decades of conflict.
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Kurdish residents hold flags showing Abdullah Ocalan as they attend a gathering to see live a pro-Kurdish Peoples' Equality and Democracy Party, or DEM, delegation members releasing a statement from the jailed leader of the rebel Kurdistan Workers' Party, or PKK, in Qamishli, northeastern Syria, Thursday, Feb. 27, 2025 (AP)
Secret negotiations between Turkish and Syrian Kurdish officials have been underway since Spring 2024, aimed at ending decades of conflict between Ankara and the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) and addressing Turkish concerns about Kurdish autonomy in northeast Syria, Al-Monitor reported.
Well-informed sources told the news website that the discussions have unfolded in parallel with a renewed negotiation track between Turkish officials and Abdullah Ocalan, the imprisoned PKK leader. High-level meetings with Syrian Kurdish officials reportedly took place last year in France and Switzerland, shortly after Turkish local elections.
The shift followed President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s electoral setback to the main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP), which was backed by the pro-Kurdish DEM Party. Seeking to weaken this opposition bloc, Erdogan’s administration began exploring a new political pact with Kurdish forces, both domestic and across the border.
Read more: PKK urges Turkey to ease Ocalan's imprisonment
Ocalan’s role in ending PKK's armed struggle
Ocalan peace talks have gained legitimacy after Erdogan’s informal coalition party and far-right Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) leader Devlet Bahceli reversed his long-standing opposition to Kurdish engagement. Bahceli now supports Ocalan’s involvement in disarming the PKK and hinted at a potential amnesty in exchange for peace.
On February 27, Ocalan called on the PKK to lay down arms and dissolve. In response, the PKK leadership based in the mountains of the Iraqi Kurdistan region announced compliance in May. Ocalan is also involved in reorganizing the DEM Party into a new, non-separatist Kurdish political entity that could operate under Ankara-approved limits.
This marks a significant shift toward PKK disarmament in 2025, potentially ending a conflict that has spanned four decades.
Turkey’s evolving Kurdish policy
Despite continued military operations targeting the PKK and Syrian Kurdish infrastructure, Ankara's approach is evolving. Turkish forces have scaled back assaults since March, with a US-brokered ceasefire around the Tishreen Dam holding for over two months.
Ankara is now reportedly considering reopening the Nusaybin border crossing, shut since 2012, as part of normalization efforts. This move could create an economic lifeline for Kurdish and Arab regions under SDF control, including Raqqa and Deir Ezzor.
The Turkish government has also accepted, in principle, a watered-down version of Kurdish autonomy in Syria, provided that it does not become constitutional. Sources say Turkey is willing to integrate the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) into the Syrian army under Damascus’ control, in line with the March 10 agreement between SDF leader Mazlum Kobane and Syrian President Ahmad al-Sharaa.
Read more: Turkey's Erdogan warns SDF against stalling on Syrian integration deal
Ceasefire holds amid normalization proposals
SDF Commander Mazlum Kobane confirmed the existence of a “conditional and temporary” ceasefire with Turkey, expressing hope that it could become permanent. Kobane also said he was open to meeting Erdogan but that no talks were currently scheduled.
He was reportedly offered a possible meeting with Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan or intelligence chief Ibrahim Kalin in Damascus if certain conditions are met, chief among them, the complete removal of PKK influence from Syrian Kurdish politics.
While both the SDF and Turkey’s Foreign Ministry denied that such an offer was made, the momentum behind dialogue continues.
US-mediated dialogue on Syria’s future and SDF integration
Recent US-mediated negotiations have brought Turkish and SDF officials to the table in southern Turkey. Talks reportedly addressed Syria’s political future, a potential US withdrawal, and the fate of ISIS detainees currently held by Kurdish forces.
The urgency for a deal increased following the Assad regime’s collapse in December and "Israel’s" outreach to the Syrian Kurdish administration—moves that triggered fresh coordination between Ankara and Damascus.
