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Kurdistan
US Consul General in Erbil Steven Fagin (left) meets with President of the Kurdistan Region Nechirvan Barzani in Erbil on May 13, 2020. Photo: Kurdistan Region Presidency on Twitter
ERBIL, Kurdistan Region – The top US diplomat in Erbil has expressed his “appreciation” for Kurdistan Region president Nechirvan Barzani's role in recent unity talks between Kurdish parties in northeast Syria at a meeting between the two officials on Wednesday, according to a readout from Barzani’s office.
US Consul General Steven Fagin's comment on the Erbil meeting comes amid a period of detente between the ruling Democratic Union Party (PYD) and the opposition Kurdish National Council (ENKS) in northeast Syria, an area known to Kurds as Rojava - though the two parties have yet to reach any final deals in the talks supported by international community, most notably by the US, France and Russia.
During his meeting with the Kurdish leader on Wednesday, the US consul general “expressed his appreciation for President Nechirvan Barzani's efforts to bring the Kurdish groups together in order to maintain unity and consensus in the country.”
The two also discussed Erbil-Baghdad relations, the newly-formed Iraqi government, and efforts by Rojava Kurds for unity, according to the Barzani office readout. Fagin’s office has yet to make a statement on the meeting.
US involvement in Kurdish party diplomacy includes an April 26 meeting between top US diplomat in Syria William Roebuck and a number of Kurdish party representatives in Rojava, with Roebuck expressing satisfaction in recent progress towards unity, an anonymous source told Rudaw.
The most recent meeting between a foreign delegation and Rojava parties was in early May, when a French delegation held a fresh round of talks with the parties.
Nechirvan Barzani has also held several meetings with representatives from both sides in Erbil.
The Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria (NES) controlling Rojava is politically ruled by the PYD and militarily ruled its People’s Protection Units (YPG) armed wing, which makes up the majority of the SDF.
The ENKS have previously criticized the PYD for its unwillingness to share power with the opposition parties, and crackdowns on their officials and offices, but recent talks have led to the release of an ENKS official, reopening of its offices, and the return of a party leader’s confiscated house.
Power-sharing talks between the ENKS and the Movement for a Democratic Society (TEV-DEM), the umbrella group for the ruling PYD and its allies began in 2014, mediated by then-president of the Kurdistan Region Masoud Barzani - the leader of the Kurdistan Region's ruling Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP), which has supported the ENKS since its foundation in the first year of the Syrian conflict in 2011.
Animosity between the groups continued despite several subsequent rounds of talks leading to an initial deal, with each side accusing the other of treason.
Weeks after Turkey and its Syrian proxies launched a military operation against the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) in northern Syria, SDF commander Mazloum Abdi initiated a new round of talks between Kurdish ruling and opposition parties in October 2019.
In a tweet in mid-December, Abdi thanked the Kurdistan Region officials for their role in facilitating talks.
“The positive position of the Southern [Iraqi] Kurdistan’s administration in this regard is appreciated and we thank them,” he said.
'No clear agenda'
Inayet Diko, a Germany-based Kurdish writer and journalist, told Rudaw late Wednesday that the US is acting “behind the scenes” in bringing Kurdish parties together in Syria, but questioned the benefit when “Kurds have no clear agenda.”
“When Kurd[ish politicians] go to the US, Europe and other countries, they are asked about their demands. Neither the Kurds within the [Syrian Opposition] Coalition nor the Kurds who rule the Autonomous Administration [of North and East Syria] show a clear list of demands,” said the writer who is originally from Rojava and an outspoken commentator on the area's politics.
Diko also commended Barzani’s role in the talks process, but hoped it "becomes practical”, so that negotiation outcomes materialise in real change.
US Consul General Steven Fagin's comment on the Erbil meeting comes amid a period of detente between the ruling Democratic Union Party (PYD) and the opposition Kurdish National Council (ENKS) in northeast Syria, an area known to Kurds as Rojava - though the two parties have yet to reach any final deals in the talks supported by international community, most notably by the US, France and Russia.
During his meeting with the Kurdish leader on Wednesday, the US consul general “expressed his appreciation for President Nechirvan Barzani's efforts to bring the Kurdish groups together in order to maintain unity and consensus in the country.”
The two also discussed Erbil-Baghdad relations, the newly-formed Iraqi government, and efforts by Rojava Kurds for unity, according to the Barzani office readout. Fagin’s office has yet to make a statement on the meeting.
US involvement in Kurdish party diplomacy includes an April 26 meeting between top US diplomat in Syria William Roebuck and a number of Kurdish party representatives in Rojava, with Roebuck expressing satisfaction in recent progress towards unity, an anonymous source told Rudaw.
The most recent meeting between a foreign delegation and Rojava parties was in early May, when a French delegation held a fresh round of talks with the parties.
Nechirvan Barzani has also held several meetings with representatives from both sides in Erbil.
The Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria (NES) controlling Rojava is politically ruled by the PYD and militarily ruled its People’s Protection Units (YPG) armed wing, which makes up the majority of the SDF.
The ENKS have previously criticized the PYD for its unwillingness to share power with the opposition parties, and crackdowns on their officials and offices, but recent talks have led to the release of an ENKS official, reopening of its offices, and the return of a party leader’s confiscated house.
Power-sharing talks between the ENKS and the Movement for a Democratic Society (TEV-DEM), the umbrella group for the ruling PYD and its allies began in 2014, mediated by then-president of the Kurdistan Region Masoud Barzani - the leader of the Kurdistan Region's ruling Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP), which has supported the ENKS since its foundation in the first year of the Syrian conflict in 2011.
Animosity between the groups continued despite several subsequent rounds of talks leading to an initial deal, with each side accusing the other of treason.
Weeks after Turkey and its Syrian proxies launched a military operation against the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) in northern Syria, SDF commander Mazloum Abdi initiated a new round of talks between Kurdish ruling and opposition parties in October 2019.
In a tweet in mid-December, Abdi thanked the Kurdistan Region officials for their role in facilitating talks.
“The positive position of the Southern [Iraqi] Kurdistan’s administration in this regard is appreciated and we thank them,” he said.
'No clear agenda'
Inayet Diko, a Germany-based Kurdish writer and journalist, told Rudaw late Wednesday that the US is acting “behind the scenes” in bringing Kurdish parties together in Syria, but questioned the benefit when “Kurds have no clear agenda.”
“When Kurd[ish politicians] go to the US, Europe and other countries, they are asked about their demands. Neither the Kurds within the [Syrian Opposition] Coalition nor the Kurds who rule the Autonomous Administration [of North and East Syria] show a clear list of demands,” said the writer who is originally from Rojava and an outspoken commentator on the area's politics.
Diko also commended Barzani’s role in the talks process, but hoped it "becomes practical”, so that negotiation outcomes materialise in real change.
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