ERBIL, Kurdistan Region of Iraq - Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan on Thursday called on the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) and the Syrian government to implement the March 10 agreement “as soon as possible,” warning that Ankara is running out of patience with the Kurdish-led forces.

On March 10, SDF chief Mazloum Abdi and Syria’s President Ahmed al-Sharaa signed an agreement that would see the Kurdish-led forces in northeast Syria integrate into the Syrian state apparatus, with Turkey having repeatedly demanded that the SDF be brought under the auspices of the Syrian state apparatus.

Fidan's comments follow several armed skirmishes between Damascus-aligned forces and Kurdish forces that took place in the past months amid lengthy delays of the integration process .

"Now, the SDF needs to abandon the position it currently holds and reach an agreement with the administration in Damascus as soon as possible, and the parties need to fulfill their obligations within the framework of the March 10 Agreement," Fidan said during an interview with state media TRT on Thursday.

“[The] SDF should understand the patience of the relevant actors is running out," Fidan stressed.

He noted that Kurdish forces should avoid using the resurgence of the Islamic State (ISIS) in the area “as an excuse to drag out the process.”

With the agreement months from expiring, no official updates have been reported on talks between Damascus and Rojava.

North and East Syria Communication, an outlet affiliated with the Kurdish-led Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria (AANES), on Thursday said that “a preliminary agreement has been reached” to keep three divisions affiliated with SDF “within the military structure of the Syrian army.” 

The statement noted ongoing “technical discussions” between both sides on roles and organizational structure, with practical steps expected “in the coming period.”

Turkey considers the People’s Protection Units (YPG), the backbone of the SDF, to be inextricably linked to the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) and thereby sees the SDF as an extension of their now-disbanded domestic foe.

Fidan in October called for the “urgent and complete” implementation of the March 10 agreement, accusing the SDF of harboring a separatist agenda.

The PKK in May announced its decision to dissolve and disband upon Ocalan’s historic call, marking an end to their armed struggle against the Turkish state that spanned four decades and claimed tens of thousands of lives.

The US-backed SDF is the global coalition’s main ally on the ground in the fight against the Islamic State (ISIS) and is the de facto army in Rojava. Despite the SDF's intimate counterterrorism ties with the US military, Washington has strongly pushed for the integration of the March 10 agreement as relations with the new Syrian administration have warmed.

Kurds and other minorities in Syria have called for decentralized governance, a request Damascus has firmly rejected.