Turkey urges Iran to back Ankara's fight against PKK

Turkey’s Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan says Ankara seeks to strengthen ties with its eastern neighbor and expects Tehran to support its fight against the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK).

“There are some who think differently about PKK in Iran. But it is not a secret that we call on all the countries – the US, Russia, etc. – not only Iran, not to support PKK or at least not to remain indifferent,” Fidan said Friday during a press conference in Istanbul.

He made the remarks in response to a question about IRGC Quds Force Chief Esmail Qaani's alleged meeting with the PKK-linked YPG leaders.

Fidan also suggested that Iran might reconsider its regional policies and adopt a new strategy in the Middle East following developments in the region, including the fall of Tehran’s ally Bashar al-Assad in Syria.

Ankara is known as the main supporter of the Syrian rebels led by Ahmed al-Sharaa, also known by his nom de guerre Abu Mohammad al-Julani, who toppled Assad's government in Damascus.

Fidan said the new Syrian administration should be given a chance to address the presence of Kurdish militants in the Arab country, reiterating that the Turkish military would act if it did not.

Since the fall of Assad on December 8, 2024, Ankara has repeatedly said the Kurdish YPG militia must disband, lay down its weapons, and have its foreign fighters leave Syria.

Turkey has listed the YPG, which spearheads the US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), as a terrorist organization linked to militants waging a decades-old insurgency against the Turkish state.

However, Washington considers them a key ally battling Daesh (ISIS) terrorists.