Turkish Minister of National Defense Yaşar Güler stated on December 20, 2025, that the deadline for the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) to integrate individually into the Syrian army ends at the close of this year, with Turkey prepared for all scenarios thereafter, according to X posts by temmuzhaber and BarracudaVol1 over the past 90 minutes from 1:46 p.m. to 3:16 p.m. UTC. Güler specified that the SDF, linked to the PKK, must integrate as individuals and not as an independent entity or unit, abandoning separatist discourse and parallel security structures, as quoted in the BarracudaVol1 post. He emphasized that Turkey will not allow any terrorist organization, particularly PKK/YPG/SDF, to establish a presence in the region under any name. In response to a question on non-integration, Güler said Turkey has conducted necessary operations in Syria since 2016 without seeking permission and will do so again if required, while monitoring SDF tunnel activities in Raqqa and Deir ez-Zor, per the same X post. Güler noted close coordination with Syria under a Joint Training and Consultancy Memorandum, aiding Syrian army capacity-building, organization, modernization, and training against terrorism, as stated in the BarracudaVol1 report. Separately, the US State Department informed Congress of plans to re-establish diplomatic representation in Syria, conducting a field study for a new embassy in Damascus outside the crowded Abu Rummaneh area for security reasons, according to طيف للأخبار citing t.me/damscuce during the reporting window.
