Turkey to send Syria weapons in exchange for greater reach against Kurdish group
Syria has reportedly elected to only use the equipment on its northern border, to avoid further stoking the already tense relations with neighboring Israel.
Turkey has reportedly agreed to supply the Syrian regime with military equipment in exchange for Damascus allowing Ankara to target Kurdish militant groups on Syrian soil, anonymous Turkish officials told Bloomberg on Friday.
The supply of weapons will reportedly see the transfer of armored cars, drones, artillery, missiles and air-defense systems in the next several weeks, the officials said.
Syria has reportedly elected to only use the equipment on its northern border to avoid further stoking the already tense relations with neighboring Israel.
The weapons shipments are said to be Turkey’s way of backing the Islamist regime of HTS, which has been accused of orchestrating genocides against Syria’s Druze community and consolidating power behind Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa.
Israel struck many of Syria’s military assets after the fall of the Assad regime, leaving Damascus looking at newly formed allies to bolster its military strength.
Syrian Democratic Forces commander Khalil Qahraman surveys the Tishreen Dam on the Euphrates River in northern Syria, June 7, 2025. (credit: REUTERS/Orhan Qereman)
Turkey seeking to hit Kurdish group
Turkey also has a vested interest in strengthening the regime’s northeast border, which neighbors Turkey, and is currently controlled by the US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces, according to the Bloomberg report. Parts of the SDF are also affiliated with the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) – a separatist group considered to be a terrorist group by Turkey, the US, and the European Union.
PKK announced in May that it would disarm and disband, but the process has been slow as the group waits to see if Turkey will meet Kurdish demands.
Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan said on Wednesday that the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) must abandon its “separatist agenda,” a day after the group’s leader and Syria’s government announced a ceasefire.
At a press conference in Ankara alongside Syrian Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shibani, Fidan said the Syrian leadership could now fight Islamic State on its own in the country, meaning foreign states must change their approach on the matter.
Syria’a defense minister and SDF’s commander said on Tuesday they had agreed a comprehensive ceasefire on all fronts in northern and northeastern Syria.
Damascus and Ankara have also reportedly discussed deepening their existing security agreement, which allows Turkey to strike Kurdish militant groups near the Turkish border. Turkey wants to extend the permitted range to 30 kilometers, from 5 kilometers now, the officials said.
Ankara also wants the Sharaa to restrict SDF’s access to oil and gas fields over apparent concerns the funds are being channeled to the PKK, the officials added.
Reports of the potential deal also follow clashes between Damascus and SDF forces across two districts of Aleppo city.
SDF spokesperson Farhad Shami accused government factions of attempting to enter two Kurdish-held districts of Aleppo with tanks.
He denied accusations that SDF personnel had targeted checkpoints, saying the group had no forces in the two neighborhoods of Ashrafiya and Sheikh Maqsoud.
Farhad called for the lifting of what he described as a siege, warning that the government’s actions were a dangerous escalation that worsens the plight of local residents.
The SDF has stepped up raids in several majority-Arab towns under its control, saying the operations targeted Islamic State sleeper cells. The raids, along with an accelerated campaign to recruit youths for military conscription, have triggered an outcry among some Arab tribal groups who accuse the SDF of discrimination, a charge the group denies.
The Syrian army redeployed along several frontlines with the Kurdish-led group in northeast Syria, the Defense Ministry said on Monday, following the announcement of a ceasefire between SDF and Sharaa’s forces, saying the move was not a prelude to military action but to prevent repeated attacks and attempts by the SDF to seize territory.
