Turkey’s foreign minister says Ankara is closely monitoring an agreement between the Syrian government and a U.S-backed Kurdish-led armed group.

Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan welcomed an agreement between the Kurdish-led and U.S.-backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) and Syria’s new government, saying its full implementation would contribute to security and stability in the country.

For more than 40 years, the Turkish government has fought the PKK in eastern Turkey, northern Iraq and Syria. Recent efforts to establish a ceasefire between the Turkish government and the PKK raise new hopes for stability in the Middle East.