Nationalist leader Bahceli issues a significant warning to the SDF, outlining its potential repercussions

The Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) may be forced to reconsider their hardened stance in talks with Damascus, following a warning from Devlet Bahceli, the leader of Turkey's Nationalist Movement Party (MHP). Bahceli has threatened a military intervention between Turkey and Syria if the SDF fails to implement the agreement signed with Damascus in March 2022.

For a long time, the SDF had believed that the process in Turkey would shield it from Turkish military intervention. However, Bahceli's recent remarks have challenged this assumption. The MHP leader insists that the SDF's continued stalling, hiding behind conferences and recycled tactics, is not only a hindrance to Syrian unity but also a resistance to an external threat.

Bahceli's warning is seen as more than partisan rhetoric and marks the entrance of Turkish nationalists into the debate over Syria's future. His warning draws a direct line from his historic call for PKK disarmament to today's situation, portraying the SDF as instruments of an Israeli plan to fragment Syria.

Ankara's military posturing has been aimed at pushing the SDF back toward the March 10 agreement, which the SDF has been stalling on. Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan issued a warning that "playing for time" would not serve the SDF.

The significance of Bahceli's warning lies in its political weight. The nationalist camp is no longer hedging between negotiation and deterrence. Bahceli has made the binary explicit: either the SDF integrates into the Syrian state structure as agreed, or it faces a joint military force.

Both Ankara and Damascus have voiced growing frustration with the SDF's stalling, but have not yet openly endorsed the military option. However, Bahceli's warning may force the SDF to implement the March 10 deal to avoid a potential military confrontation.

The SDF may be forced to correct its misperception about Turkey's process and recalibrate its bargaining position. Bahceli, who once kickstarted the PKK disarmament process, is signaling that a military option may be inevitable if the SDF continues to resist integration into the Syrian state structure.

Nationalist leader Bahceli issues a significant warning to the SDF, outlining its potential repercussions