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Syria
Syrian President Bashar al-Assad speaks to French Paris Match Magazine, November 28, 2019. File photo: SANA / HO / AFP
ERBIL, Kurdistan Region – A senior member of the Kurdish National Council (ENKS) said Thursday they are ready to hold talks with the Syrian government of Bashar al-Assad if regime-backer Russia plays the role of guarantor.
Mohammed Ismail, a member of the ENKS leadership committee, told Rudaw in Qamishli they do not fully trust Damascus, but “if an influential country like Russia acts like a guarantor” they are prepared to enter talks.
“Everything can be resolved through talks and dialogue,” Ismail said.
ENKS is a group of Kurdish parties who stand in opposition to northern Syria’s ruling Democratic Union Party’s (PYD).
There have been no official talks between the ENKS and Damascus to date because the council is a member of the National Coalition for Syrian Revolutionary and Opposition Forces – a group of various anti-regime forces backed by Turkey.
Kawa Azizi, a member of the ENKS central committee, told Rudaw in Erbil they are part of the Syrian opposition and need to coordinate with the group for such talks.
“We are part of the opposition and we are in talks with the Syrian regime in the framework of the Geneva talks. If we want to hold talks with the Damascus, our relations will be harmed with the opposition,” he said.
“Therefore, in the absence of a strong, international guarantee from countries like Russia and the US, talks with Damascus will be a useless adventure,” Azizi added.
The Assad regime has not shown any interest in talks with the ENKS. However, tentative talks between regime officials and the PYD-led Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria (NES) have so far proven fruitless.
The PYD took control of Kurdish areas of northern Syria at the outbreak of the 2011 uprising when regime forces left the region to protect other parts of the country. The ENKS and PYD have since been at odds.
The Syrian opposition, the regime, and the United Nations have formed a committee to redraft the Syrian constitution. There has been scant progress in talks, however, due to deep disagreements between opposition and government delegates.
ENKS, which has one member sitting on the Syrian constitutional committee, has held multiple meetings with Russian officials in Moscow, the most recent on Monday.
The three-member ENKS delegation met with Mikhail Bogdanov, Russian deputy foreign minister and special presidential envoy to the Middle East and Africa.
Bogdanov told the Kurdish delegation it needed to clarify its demands in Syria and unite with other Kurdish forces.
“When it comes to the Kurdish question, it [Russia] says that ‘You [Kurds] have to make deals and clarify your demands. Then, we can help you in ensuring rights in the future of Syria,’” Kamiran Hajo, head of ENKS foreign relations, told Rudaw.
Azizi warned on Thursday that if Kurds do not have united demands in Syria, there will be a “chaos”.
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