Turkey has no 'secret agenda' in Syria, minister says

Turkey “does not have any secret agenda” in Syria and wants to construct a “new culture of cooperation,” Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan said Friday.

One of Turkey’s priorities in the upcoming year is to clear the region of terrorism, Fidan said, referring to Kurdish militants based in northeast Syria. “The extensions of the separatist group in Syria are now facing destruction and the old order is no longer going to continue,” he told a news conference in Istanbul.

Fidan also criticized the United States’ support for the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) as the U.S. seeks to prevent a revival of the Islamic State group.

“This kills the spirit of alliance and solidarity,” Fidan said. He said Turkey is “not going to shy away from taking the necessary steps” in terms of military action.

Turkey views the SDF as an extension of the banned Kurdistan Workers’ Party, or PKK, which is listed as a terror organization by Turkey and other states.

Referring to Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin’s comments that U.S. troops should stay in Syria, Fidan dismissed the views of the outgoing U.S. administration. “This is the problem of the new government and the old government does not have a say in this,” he said.

The SDF is currently involved in fighting the Turkish-backed Syrian National Army.

Fidan also backed suggestions for Syrian Kurds to join a new national military but said all non-Syrians fighting for the SDF –- a reference to those with ties to the PKK -– should leave the country.