Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said his government remained firmly opposed to a federal system in Syria on Wednesday, calling the idea “nothing more than an empty dream.” 

Erdogan was responding to reporters’ questions about the first-ever Kurdish Unity and Solidarity Conference that was held in Qamishli, northeast Syria, on Saturday, under the auspices of the Kurdish-led Democratic Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria and its armed wing, the Syrian Democratic Forces. The opposition Kurdistan National Council co-hosted the event, where “a common Kurdish vision” for Syria was articulated.

“There is no room for [a federation] in the Syrian reality. We recommend that decisions that contribute to the stability of the region be made rather than those that threaten [it],” Erdogan said. “We will not permit any fait accompli in Syria or any initiatives that threaten or endanger the lasting stability of the region,” he added. The Turkish leader made the remarks during his flight home from Rome, where he met with Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni. 

In their final declaration, conference attendees made no mention of federalism or even autonomy. They called for “a fair solution to the Kurdish question in Syria such as democracy and decentralization,” even though both ruling and opposition Kurdish leaders have openly stated their desire for a federal status. The muted tone reflected concerns about provoking Syria’s interim president, Ahmad al-Sharaa, who has made clear his wish to preserve a centralized rule with no special status for the country’s minorities.

The declaration prompted a stern response from the Syrian presidency, nonetheless. “We clearly reject any attempt to impose a partition or create separatist cantons under the terms of federalism or self-autonomy without a national consensus,” it said in a statement.

By Ankara’s standards, however, Erdogan’s comments were startlingly mild. The word “terrorist” did not figure once and he made no mention of the SDF whatsoever, a further sign of Turkey’s softening stance on northeast Syria amid efforts to strike a deal with its own Kurds. Turkey and its Sunni rebel allies in northern Syria have ceased attacking the SDF for more than a month, in line with an undeclared ceasefire that was partially brokered by the Pentagon. The deconfliction talks have focused on the Tishreen Dam, where the SDF and Turkish-supported forces had been engaged in fierce battles since the fall of the Assad regime. But the broader purpose is for the SDF to withdraw east of the Euphrates River, a long-running Turkish demand.

Turkey mounted its first ground incursion in northern Syria in 2016, soon after the SDF crossed the river to wrest the Arab-majority town of Manbij from the Islamic State with the backing of the US-led coalition. Turkey has been attacking the SDF ever since, mounting two more ground incursions and escalating its assaults against the Kurdish-led zone on the grounds that it presented a threat to Ankara’s national security.