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Türkiye's top diplomat Minister Hakan Fidan and U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio discussed recent developments in Syria and Washington's Peace Council initiative in a phone call Tuesday, as a four-day ceasefire between Syrian forces and the SDF terror group went into effect.
The conversation between the two top diplomats came amid a flurry of high-level contacts between Ankara and Washington over Syria's transition. Turkish National Defense Minister Yasar Guler separately spoke with U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth to exchange views on bilateral relations and regional defense and security issues, the Turkish National Defense Ministry said in a statement.
The diplomatic contacts followed remarks by U.S. Special Envoy for Syria Tom Barrack, who declared Tuesday that the role of the SDF terror group as the "primary anti-Daesh force on the ground" has "largely expired" as Syria prepares to assume security responsibilities.
The Syrian Defense Ministry announced a four-day ceasefire with the SDF terror group shortly after Barrack's comments, marking a potential turning point in the country's post-Assad transition. The Syrian presidency has given the group four days to present a detailed administrative and military mechanism for integrating Hasakah governorate into the central government structure.
Under the agreement, Syrian military forces will not enter the centers of Hasakah and Qamishli cities or Kurdish villages, with only local security forces from the region permitted to operate in those areas. SDF commander Mazloum Abdi is expected to nominate candidates for key positions including assistant minister of defense and governor of Hasakah.
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Details of the U.S. Peace Council initiative discussed by Fidan and Rubio were not immediately disclosed. The Turkish Foreign Ministry confirmed the call took place but provided no further information about the substance of the discussions.
The coordinated diplomatic engagement between Türkiye and the United States comes as both countries seek to shape Syria's political future following the fall of Bashar al-Assad's government. Ankara has long opposed the SDF terror group's autonomous administration in northeastern Syria, viewing it as an extension of the PKK.
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