Turkish President Recep Tayyip ErdoÄŸan said on Monday that Turkey is ready to intervene to prevent any splintering of Syria, a warning seemingly aimed at the country's Kurdish forces.
"We cannot accept under any pretext that Syria be divided and if we notice the slightest risk we will take the necessary measures," the Turkish head of state said, adding that "we have the means".
Erdogan's warning is the latest aimed at the Kurdish-dominated Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) and to the US, which backed the SDF's offensive against the Islamic State group (IS).
Saying there is no room for "terror" in Syria, Erdogan said that "should the risk present itself, we could intervene in one night".
At least 101 combatants were left dead in fighting over the weekend between the Turkish-backed Syrian National Army (SNA) and the Kurdish People’s Protection Units (YPG), which comprises the overwhelming majority of the SDF.
Ankara considers the YPG to be an extension of the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), which has been in an armed struggle with the Turkish state since the 1980s and is classified by Turkey and its Western allies as a terrorist movement.
Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan had said that "the elimination of the PKK/YPG is only a matter of time", raising the possibility that the movement could join the Syrian government and lay down its arms.
But he warned that Western countries should not use the threat of Islamic State as "a pretext to strengthen the PKK".
Though Turkey did not materially support Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) during its lighting offensive that led to the fall of the Assad regime, it is known to be close to the group and supports the Syrian transitional government.
There is hope that the SDF and all Kurdish factions can be integrated into the new Syrian government in order to avoid violence instigated by the conflict between Turkey and the YPG.
Last week, Syria’s de facto leader Ahmed al-Sharaa held meetings with delegates of the SDF.
Speaking on condition of anonymity, a Syrian official said it was a "preliminary meeting to lay the foundations for future dialogue," adding that both sides had agreed "to continue these meetings to reach future understandings".