ERBIL, Kurdistan Region – Peace talks on Syria rescheduled to begin in Geneva this week should include the Syrian Kurdish Democratic Union Party (PYD), Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov argued on Tuesday.
According to Reuters, Lavrov said it would be both "unfair" and "counter-productive" not to include the Syrian Kurdish groups in the peace talks, scheduled for Friday.
He argued that it is impossible to reach a comprehensive peace agreement in Syria without the Kurds participating in such a process.
The Syrian Kurds have been among the foremost forces on the ground in Syria to combat Islamic State (ISIS) terrorists. The United States has recognized this and has accordingly been giving them air support for over a year now. It has also air dropped small arms and ammunition to them.
Turkey is against any inclusion of the PYD or its military wing, the YPG, at the talks. It welcomes non-PYD Kurdish participation.
While the PYD's armed wing, the Peoples Protection Units (YPG), have clashed with Syrian military forces under the command of President Bashar al-Assad it hasn't gone to war with his regime like many other armed groups in Syria have.
Instead it has sought first and foremost to consolidate its own territory and combat threats to it.
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