Stalled intra-Kurdish talks in Rojava to resume before the New Year: ENKS official

ERBIL, Kurdistan Region — Stalled unity talks between Kurdish ruling and opposition parties in northeast Syria (Rojava) are to resume before the end of 2020, an official from the opposition Kurdish National Council (ENKS) umbrella group told Rudaw on Thursday. 

The length and success of talks with the ruling Kurdish National Unity Parties (PYNK) umbrella group will depend on the PYNK’s level of commitment, ENKS leadership member Mohammed Ismail told Rudaw. No specific day has been chosen for the resumption of talks, he said.

Talks between Rojava’s ruling and opposition parties have been on pause for almost two months. Though the reasons behind the stop were initially unclear, Mazloum Abdi, commander of the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) and kingpin of the talks, told Rojava’s Ronahi TV on December 3 that discussions were on hold because of the absence of some US and ENKS officials from Rojava.

US Special Envoy to Syria James Jeffrey retired last month and was replaced by Joel Rayburn, who had been serving as the Deputy Assistant Secretary for Levant Affairs since 2018.

Rayburn arrived in Rojava on Monday, meeting with officials from the Global Coalition Against Daesh (Islamic State), senior SDF officials, and ranking council members and tribal leaders from Deir ez-Zor province, according to a statement from the Department of State.

Ismail told Rudaw that he and other ENKS officials had met with the US envoy and his accompanying delegation on Wednesday. 

Both sides discussed the US “strategy and methodology for the resumption of [intra-Kurdish] talks,” said the ENKS official, adding that the delegation had reiterated that the US is still a guarantor of the talks. 

The PYNK is a coalition of 24 parties with close ties to the ruling Democratic Union Party (PYD). They have held several rounds of talks with the ENKS since late 2019. Both the ENKS and the PYD have been at odds for several years, with the ENKS accusing the PYD of being unwilling to share power and detaining their members in Rojava.

The first talks took place in Duhok in 2014. Initiated by Masoud Barzani, then president of the Kurdistan Region and leader of the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP), the initial talks ended in a deal which was never implemented.

There have been some achievements in recent sessions, including establishing a committee from both parties to unify the stance of Kurds in national issues. However, how to share power between ENKS and PYNK is one of the pressing issues between them. 

PYD leadership member Foza Yousef told Rudaw on last Thursday that talks with the ENKS have been put on hold “primarily due to the subjective demands raised by the ENKS,” referring to the opposition umbrella group’s demand for a 50/50 power share.

Ismail told Rudaw that the ENKS are not after low-level positions in the Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria (NES), but “decision-making ones.”

“We have told everyone that the Syrian Kurdish National Council (ENKS) has not come to join the administration as a [political] party but as an important political and popular party. There should be a real partnership and trust,” he said. 

“The Judicial Council and justice body, as well as boards and other offices in Kurdish-majority areas should be shared fairly. We have not wanted a 50/50 share of all employees.”

Both umbrella groups have agreed to reach a deal and hold an election in Kurdish-majority areas of Syria within a year, Ismail added.

Correction: An earlier version of this story quoted Mohammed Ismail as saying in his interview with Rudaw that talks with the PYNK would take place "before Christmas". Ismail in fact said that the talks would take place before the New Year. 

Updated on December 11, 2020 at 6:24 pm