“The YPG/SDF must stop its policy of buying time,” Fidan told reporters at the joint press conference. Tensions have also flared between Israel and Syria, including last month’s confrontations in Sweida between Druze residents and Syrian government-aligned Islamist militias. Fidan also claimed that foreign fighters from Turkey, Iraq and Iran remain active within YPG ranks in Syria, despite Ankara’s objections. The SDF controls most of Syrian Kurdistan (Rojava) and has long been in conflict with Turkey-backed Syrian Islamist factions in the north. Ankara has launched several military incursions against YPG positions in recent years and maintains control over parts of northern Syria.