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ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - Syrian Kurds need to create a unified position as soon as possible in order to secure a better future in the country, a former American diplomat said earlier this week.
“The sooner that they [Syrian Kurds] all come together and create a unified stance to discuss both with Turkey and with Damascus the better. The sooner the better. That is not something that America can control but I think it would be good for the Americans to be giving that advice to friends in the Syrian-Kurdish region,“ said Robert Ford, who is also a Senior Fellow at the Middle East Institute, referring to the Kurdish enclave in northeast Syria, known by Kurds as Rojava.
There are ongoing efforts to resume intra-Kurdish talks between Kurdish ruling and opposition parties in Rojava. The talks began a decade ago but have been stalled for years due to disagreements.
The Kurdish National Council (ENKS/KNC), an umbrella group of Kurdish opposition parties in Rojava, has been in constant rivalry with the ruling People's Democratic Party (PYD) over maintaining influence in Rojava.
Mazloum Abdi, chief of the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), held a meeting with the ENKS in recent days to pave the way for the resumption of ENKS-PYD meetings.
Abdul-Hakim Bashar, ENKS representative, told Rudaw in Damascus that the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) intervenes in Rojava affairs.
“People I talk to in Syria's Kurdish region say that Qandil people [PKK commanders] have a very powerful role, often immediately behind the scenes and I think this makes the Turks very uncomfortable,” said Ford.
“When we talk about a negotiation between Türkiye on one side and the Syrian Democratic Forces and the Autonomous Administration on the other side. I think two things are clear: one, Qandil people cannot play a role in the negotiations, nor should they expect to have any position of any kind of authority, political authority or military authority going forward. I mean, that has to end,” explained the expert.
Qandil is a mountain in the Kurdistan Region where the PKK is believed to be headquartered.
He also stressed that “the United States must try to convince Türkiye and the Autonomous Administration and the SDF to have a negotiation, they must.”
Syrian Kurds have urged Kurdish political parties to be united to secure their places in the new Syria.
Turkey-backed militants have intensified their attacks on Kurdish forces in northern Syria since the regime’s collapse earlier this month.
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