Turkey will do "whatever it takes" to ensure its security if the new Syrian administration cannot address Ankara's concerns about U.S.-allied Kurdish groups it views as terrorist groups, Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan said on Saturday.

Ankara is concerned that Israel may seek to solidify its territorial gains in Syria, leveraging regional instability and pro-Israel US policies.

Turkey-backed forces are aiming to capture more territory in northern Syria from Kurdish groups, according to Turkish officials familiar with the matter, a move that could stir tensions with the US.

The Middle East's regional powers had been pursuing reconciliation. Syria's post-Assad transition will put that to the test. The post Post-Assad Syria Will Test Turkey's Thaw With the Gulf States appeared first on World Politics Review.

Kurdish fighters who came to Syria from around the Middle East to support Syrian Kurdish forces will leave if a ceasefire is reached in the conflict with Turkey in northern Syria, the commander of Syrian Kurdish-led forces told Reuters on Thursday.

Turkey said Syria’s new rebel government agrees with Ankara on the need to dismantle Kurdish military forces — a critical US ally in the northern region of Syria — as countries rush to shape the future of the region after the downfall of the Assad regime.

The commander of Syrian Kurdish-led forces in Syria said in an interview on December 19 that Kurdish fighters who came to the country from around the Middle East to fight for his militia will leave if Turkey agrees a total ceasefire on clashes taking place in northern Syria.

Turkey expects foreign countries will withdraw support for Kurdish fighters in Syria following the toppling of Bashar al-Assad, President Tayyip Erdogan said, as Ankara seeks to isolate Kurds who have long fought alongside U.