Turkey said on Thursday "terrorists" must lay down arms and foreign fighters must be expelled from Syria, after an agreement spearheaded by Syria's new authorities to disband armed groups.
"As Turkey, we remain determined to fight against terrorism," a Turkish defense ministry source said.
"There's no change in our expectations for an end to terrorist activities in Syria, for terrorists to lay down their weapons and for foreign terrorists to be removed from Syria," the source added.
Syria's new authorities have sought to disband armed groups and establish government control over the entire country since ousting long-time leader Bashar al-Assad in December after more than 13 years of civil war.
On Monday, the Syrian presidential office announced an agreement with the head of the Kurdish-dominated Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) to integrate the autonomous Kurdish administration into the national government.
The Kurdish administration has governed much of northeastern Syria for the past decade.
The SDF -- seen as essential in the fight against Islamic State (IS) jihadists -- is dominated by the Kurdish People's Protection Units (YPG).
Ankara views the YPG as an offshoot of the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), an outlawed group dominated by ethnic Kurds in Turkey which has waged an insurgency against the Turkish state since 1984.
Jailed PKK founder Abdullah Ocalan called in February for the group to lay down its weapons and disband.
Step in right direction
The PKK, designated as a "terror" group by Turkey, the EU, and the United States, announced a ceasefire after Ocalan's historic call, saying: "None of our forces will carry out any armed operation unless they are attacked."
Ankara has said that if the promises are not kept, Turkish forces will continue their current anti-PKK military operations.
Turkey -- which has pressed Syria's new leaders to address the issue of the YPG's control over substantial parts of northern Syria -- is watching with interest the process of integrating the SDF into the Syrian government.
"We'll see how the agreement is be implemented... in the field," the defense ministry source said.
"We will closely follow its positive or negative consequences."
Since 2016, Turkey has carried out a series of military ground operations in Syria to force Kurdish forces away from its border.
President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said on Tuesday the full implementation of the agreement would serve peace and security, and benefit all Syrians.
"We see every effort to cleanse Syria of terrorism as a step in the right direction," he said.
The United States -- which had in recent years allied with the SDF to battle IS, to the dismay of Turkey -- also welcomed the agreement in Syria.
Turkey will host a regional summit in April to discuss anti-IS operations, a Turkish diplomatic source told AFP, adding that the venue and the time had yet to be confirmed.
By Fulya OZERKAN-AFP
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