DIYARBAKIR, Turkey — Armored vehicles flying American flags, American soldiers posing for photos with Kurdish People’s Protection Units (YPG) militants and incessant reports on US-YPG relations have been the top news in Turkey in recent days, all suggesting that the United States was heading toward an alliance with the Kurds on the Syrian battlefield.

Turkish officials reacted sometimes harshly, sometimes more guardedly, to this alliance in the making. The US administration finally said the last word with statements from their officials that Washington had decided to give direct weapons assistance to the Kurds. Although American officials tried hard to explain that the weapons will be going to the Syrian Democratic Forces, everyone knows that the backbone of that force is the YPG. This radical decision by the Trump administration has naturally become a topic of international politics. But what impacts will this decision have on the ground in Syria? The YPG is the sole military force of the Kurdish region called Rojava. How will the YPG’s access to heavy weapons alter the power balances in the region?

According to Salih Gedo, the secretary-general of the Syrian Kurdish Democratic Left Party, the weapons will pave the way to federalism for the Kurds. He told Al-Monitor that the decision to supply guns to the YPG has uplifted the spirits of all Kurds; he also called for there to be political support for Kurdish space in a federal Syria.

“No doubt this will have a resounding effect in the region. The spirits of our fighters and people alike have risen meteorically. This major step will bring success to the Kurds. The project we have is federalism. If we are also supported politically, we will succeed. Guns by themselves are not enough for the Kurds. Fighting by our fighters is not enough; they must also have political gains. We need political backing for federalism, which is the centerpiece for all Kurds. US support, coming from a superpower, is very important for us,” Gedo said.