Turkish Defense Minister: Troops to Remain in Syria and Iraq Until Border Security is Guaranteed

Turkish Defense Minister Yasar Guler announced that his country will keep its troops in Syria and Iraq until the security of its borders with both neighbors is fully ensured. In a written response to questions from AFP, Guler said, “We maintain our military presence in Iraq and Syria,” adding, “When we are satisfied that the necessary conditions regarding regional and border security have been met, the status of our deployment sites and presence in the region will be reviewed.”

Turkey has deployed forces in northern Syria and Iraq for years to contain the threat posed by Kurdish separatists from the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) and the Islamic State (ISIS) group along its borders. However, the situation has changed in the past two years, following the rise to power in Syria of a new government allied with Ankara after the fall of Bashar al-Assad’s regime, and as Turkey moved to close the chapter on its decades-long conflict with the PKK.

Guler stated, “Once the terrorist threat in the region is completely eliminated, border security is ensured, and state authority is fully and uniformly extended across all of Syria without exception, the status of our forces will be reassessed.” He added, “At this stage, it would not be appropriate to make a prior assessment regarding deployment plans or military bases that have not yet been announced,” emphasizing that “handling matters related to the future status of Turkish forces in Syria will take into account sovereignty, territorial integrity, mutual understanding between the two countries, on-the-ground security conditions, and the evolution of the terrorist threat.”

In northern Iraq, Turkish forces have also long conducted cross-border operations, carrying out airstrikes on PKK hideouts while maintaining military bases there, a presence that casts a shadow over Ankara-Baghdad relations. Turkish troops have been deployed there since 2015 and now number between 800 and 1,000 personnel, according to an Iraqi security source speaking to AFP.

In response, Guler said that the number of soldiers in Iraq and Syria is determined based on operational needs. He stressed that “our military presence in Iraq and Syria will not be accurately assessed solely by troop numbers. Our force structure and on-the-ground positioning are determined by needs related to the level of threat, border security, and developments on the ground.”

As the peace process linked to the PKK advances, Kurdish fighters destroyed weapons during a symbolic ceremony last year and evacuated four bases in northern Iraq this month, a move confirmed by Turkish intelligence. Guler said that the sustainable success of this process requires the PKK to “fully implement its decision to dissolve itself,” with Turkey “closely monitoring the next stages of the process” without abandoning its caution.

As with Syria, Turkey is closely monitoring Iraq’s efforts “to disarm militias and bring them under state control,” Guler affirmed, praising recent successes achieved in the Sinjar area.