US shift in Syria signals new era in ties with Turkiye

Last Updated on January 25, 2026 9:08 pm

By Dr. Sinem Cengiz

Since 2015, US support for the Syrian Democratic Forces in Syria has bedeviled relations between Washington and Ankara. Regardless of which administration occupies the White House, this issue has continued to plague Turkish-American relations.

Ankara has long maintained that successive US administrations have disregarded the security concerns of a NATO ally, opting instead to partner with forces affiliated with an organization Turkiye designates as terrorist in the fight against Daesh. This perception has led Ankara to launch three military operations in northern Syria to eliminate the elements it considers threats to Turkish security and stability.

Washington’s policy of supporting the SDF — formed from the Syrian affiliates of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party, or PKK — even led Ankara to enhance its cooperation with Russia. For many years, Moscow has weaponized the PKK, which was ideologically attractive to Russia due to its Marxist-Leninist roots, for its own geopolitical interests. Moscow also provided the PKK affiliates with a large amount of military support to help fight Daesh in Syria. Yet, when the PKK affiliates reached out to Russia to back the establishment of an autonomous Kurdish region in northeastern Syria, the Kremlin declined to offer support. The positive track in Turkish-Russian ties influenced Moscow’s strategic calculus toward the SDF, but concerns over US and Western dominance in Syria also played a role.

Then, the SDF turned to Israel for support. This was not surprising, since Israel was the only country in the region to openly support the independence referendum held by the Kurdistan Regional Government in Iraq in 2017. Israel wanted to use the SDF to undermine Turkiye, the new leadership in Damascus, and regional states that support Palestinian rights. However, the Israeli backing of the SDF for its own geopolitical interests has also failed. As a result, the status quo won in Syria, and the US, which was once the main backer of the SDF, played a critical role in this.

After the Syrian army pushed back SDF forces during a recent military operation, Syrian President Ahmad Al-Sharaa announced that a truce had been reached with the SDF in northeastern Syria. According to the ceasefire agreement, the SDF will hand over control of all the areas it had held for a decade, including oil and natural gas fields, and its forces will be integrated into the Syrian national security structure.

US Ambassador to Ankara and Special Envoy for Syria Tom Barrack said that his country no longer needed the SDF as the “primary ground force” in the fight against Daesh in Syria, and that its original purpose had “come to an end.” Barrack’s shuttle diplomacy played a great role in reaching this agreement which was delayed since March 10 last year. Turkiye and Syria have accused Israel of backing the SDF, and during talks in Paris between Israeli and Syrian officials, Israel was urged to stop encouraging the SDF to delay integrating.

Three key factors related to Turkish, Syrian, and US roles have played a part in reaching the current situation. First, since late 2024, Ankara has been pursuing a “terror-free Turkiye” strategy to end the long-standing conflict with the PKK. This process is not only confined to Turkish territory but aims to extend beyond its borders, including Syria. As the SDF delayed steps toward implementing its agreement with Damascus, Turkiye moved closer to considering a new military operation against the SDF. The prospect of such an operation, in turn, pressured Washington to reconsider its SDF policy. Without an operation, Turkiye instead used the threat of military action as a diplomatic tool to pressure the US.

Second, the determination of the Al-Sharaa government also played a significant role. Since the ousting of Bashar Assad, Al-Sharaa has pledged to bring all Syrian territory under the authority of the new government, including areas administered by the SDF. By pursuing the unification of Syria under a single leadership, he emerged as a more favorable partner for the US under President Donald Trump. This development also benefits Syria as it restores territorial unity because single army and administration was the essential element of post-war state recovery. It addresses not only Syria’s stability, but also the security of neighboring countries, particularly Turkiye and Iran, which are concerned over Kurdish separatism.

In the face of firm and converging Turkish and Syrian positions against the SDF, the Trump administration signaled a willingness to move forward in Syria in coordination with Damascus and Ankara. With the shifting US position and Trump’s support, Ankara and Damascus emerged as the winning sides of the recent agreement. Trump, having Al-Sharaa and President Recep Tayyip Erdogan as partners in Syria, made it clear that he had no further interest in maintaining a separate role for the SDF in Syria.

In Syria, the US directly instrumentalized and supported the SDF under the pretext of partnership in the fight against Daesh. It provided arms, training, financial support, and even protection. However, the SDF used this backing to establish an autonomous enclave, with separate civilian and military institutions.

However, the SDF, which was described as a “100,000-strong army,” failed to respond to the Syrian army, which itself was weak after losses from Israeli attacks. Moreover, it proved that without a US, Israeli, or any backing from local entities, the SDF lacks military capability. Moreover, during the Syrian army’s offensive, which radically altered Syria’s balance of power, the US did not lift a finger to support the SDF. The trajectory of Washington’s shifting SDF approach once again shows that global powers prefer states, rather than non-state actors, as a credible partner in the region, especially with a leader like Trump, who respects power.

Trump wanted to end the lingering issue between Ankara and Washington — US support for Turkiye’s number one security threat — and he did. By preferring the geopolitical value of Turkish alignment and the stability of Syria and its neighbors, he aims to open a new era in Turkiye-US relations.

• Dr. Sinem Cengiz is a Turkish political analyst who specializes in Turkiye’s relations with the Middle East.