ERBIL, Kurdistan Region – A French delegation is holding a fresh round of closed door talks with Kurdish parties in northeast Syria (Rojava) as part of an international effort to bring rival Kurdish factions together, according to a local source.
The French delegation first met with the Kurdish National Alliance (HNKS) – a group of parties close to the ruling Democratic Union Party (PYD) – on Sunday. It is due to hold direct talks with the PYD leadership on Monday, a source told Rudaw on condition of anonymity.
Although the purpose of the visit is to promote unity, the opposition Kurdish National Council (ENKS) told Rudaw English they had not been informed ahead of the French delegation’s arrival.
“We are not aware of such a delegation,” Ibrahim Biro, head of ENKS foreign relations, told Rudaw English. Sulaimani Oso, an ENKS official in Rojava, also denied any knowledge of the delegation.
However, according to a source within the ENKS, who spoke on condition of anonymity, ENKS officials also met with a French delegation in Rojava two weeks ago.
The secrecy of the talks means it is unclear what was discussed and what is expected to come next.
International efforts
This is not the first meeting between Syrian Kurdish parties and foreign mediators. Several dialogues have taken place openly and behind closed doors involving the French, the Americans, and the Russians.
France and Russia have even received delegations of Syrian Kurdish parties in their own capitals, each time focusing on the unity of Kurds in Syria.
William Roebuck, the top US diplomat in northern Syria, met with a number of Kurdish party representatives in northeast Syria on April 26 and told them he is happy with recent progress towards unity, a source told Rudaw on condition of anonymity.
HNKS officials confirmed the meetings with Roebuck took place, but did not divulge their substance.
Mikhail Bogdanov, Russia’s deputy foreign minister and special presidential representative on the Middle East, told Kurdish media in Erbil during a January meeting with ENKS officials that Moscow also endorses Kurdish unity.
“We always say that the Kurdish position has to be cohesive, united, constructive, and realistic to form the basis for dialogue with the other parties in a serious, responsible manner,” said Bogdanov.
Beginning of unity efforts
Mediated by Masoud Barzani, then-president of the Kurdistan Region, power-sharing talks began between the ENKS and the Movement for a Democratic Society (TEV-DEM), the umbrella group for the ruling PYD and its allies, in 2014.
Barzani is 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 Syrian crisis in 2011.
Despite several rounds of talks, which led an initial deal, the rivalry between the groups has continued, with both sides accusing one another of treason.
In late October 2019, just days after the Turkish army and its Syrian proxies seized control of two towns on the Syria-Turkey border from the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), Mazloum Abdi, commander of the SDF, announced an initiative to bring the ENKS, TEV-DEM, and other parties together.
Since then, several meetings have taken place, leading to the reopening of some ENKS offices in the region and the formation of a committee to investigate the alleged imprisonment of ENKS members.
Outcome
These efforts led to the release of a jailed ENKS official in late December 2019. He was also permitted to recover his confiscated property.
A source from within the SDF told Rudaw last week that Abdulkarim Bashar, a member of the opposition Kurdistan Democratic Party-Syria (PDK-S) and deputy leader of the Turkish-backed Syrian opposition coalition, had been allowed to take back his home.
This is a gesture of goodwill from the PYD to aid the progression of their talks with the ENKS, the source claimed.
Amjad Othman, spokesperson for the Syrian Democratic Council (SDC), the SDF’s political wing, told Al-Monitor last week that Kurdish parties in Rojava only have one option – signing an agreement.
“The motives behind the agreement are much stronger than reasons preventing its conclusion,” said Othman.
“The parties to the dialogue have the single option of coming to an agreement despite the considerable challenges and difficulties which will only be resolved if the parties are serious.”
With additional reporting by Hussein Omar
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