Turkey raised the tone against the Kurdish groups controlling parts of northern Syria, where the Kurdish-led so-called SDF forces are present.
We cannot, under any circumstances, allow Syria to be divided. If we see the slightest tendency towards this, we will take necessary measures, said Erdogan.
We have the resources.
YPG to be eliminated
President Erdogan's warning followed a statement from Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan, who at a press conference in Ankara warned that the balance of power in Syria is about to change after the fall of the Assad regime.
We assess that it is only a matter of time before PKK/YPG is eliminated, said Foreign Minister Fidan.
YPG (People's Defense Forces) is the armed branch of the largest Kurdish political party in Syria, PYD. It also constitutes the largest component of the SDF forces, which with US-led support have been crucial in the battles against the terrorist organization IS.
Turkey regularly equates these Kurdish groups with PKK, which is labeled as a terrorist organization and banned in Turkey after decades of violent conflict.
IS as an excuse
Foreign Minister Fidan warns Western countries against supporting the Kurdish forces in Syria and "using Daesh (IS) as an excuse to strengthen PKK".
The Kurdish forces maintain a Kurdish self-governance in northeastern Syria, but fierce battles have raged between these and pro-Turkish militant groups after Assad's fall.
The country's de facto leader, Islamist Ahmed al-Sharaa, has assured that all groups will have a place in the country and that the Kurdish-led forces in the northeast should be integrated into the army controlled from Damascus.
