Syria
Last PYD-ENKS meeting (left) and ENKS President Ismail Mohammed speaking to Rudaw on March 22, 2025. Graphic: Rudaw
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ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - A historic agreement between feuding parties in northeast Syria (Rojava) that outlines unified Kurdish demands for the new authorities in Damascus will be announced to the public early next week, a senior party official said on Friday.
“I can give the good news to our people that we, both sides, have concluded the agreement. The agreement consists of two sections: one is about the general view of Kurds about Syria and the second one is about the Kurdish rights in Syria and their resolution. We have discussed and concluded this issue together and we have reached an agreement in this regard. This was a very important thing,” Mohammed Ismail, president of the Kurdish National Council (KNC/ENKS), told Rudaw's Nalin Hassan.
ENKS is an umbrella organization of opposition parties in Rojava that is a rival to the ruling Democratic Union Party (PYD). Washington and Paris urged them to resume stalled unity talks and join forces in Damascus after the fall of dictator Bashar al-Assad.
An American representative was present at an important meeting between them in Qamishli on Tuesday when the agreement was finalized, Ismail confirmed. The French representative was not present because he was on leave, but “he will come in the coming couple of days too,” he added.
Mazloum Abdi, commander-in-chief of the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), was also at the meeting.
Ismail said the agreement does not include the political or personal interests of any one person or party. “They are all Kurdish points that Kurds have been struggling for since 1957,” he said.
The ENKS president said the agreement will be announced to the public early next week, after the Newroz holiday.
He confirmed that the agreement includes a demand for federalism, putting it in opposition to the interim constitution adopted by the transitional government in Damascus that cements authoritarian rule and has drawn criticism from Syria’s minority communities who have demanded it be re-written.
The PYD and ENKS have been long-time rivals, despite previous efforts to mediate between them.
“I can give the good news to our people that we, both sides, have concluded the agreement. The agreement consists of two sections: one is about the general view of Kurds about Syria and the second one is about the Kurdish rights in Syria and their resolution. We have discussed and concluded this issue together and we have reached an agreement in this regard. This was a very important thing,” Mohammed Ismail, president of the Kurdish National Council (KNC/ENKS), told Rudaw's Nalin Hassan.
ENKS is an umbrella organization of opposition parties in Rojava that is a rival to the ruling Democratic Union Party (PYD). Washington and Paris urged them to resume stalled unity talks and join forces in Damascus after the fall of dictator Bashar al-Assad.
An American representative was present at an important meeting between them in Qamishli on Tuesday when the agreement was finalized, Ismail confirmed. The French representative was not present because he was on leave, but “he will come in the coming couple of days too,” he added.
Mazloum Abdi, commander-in-chief of the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), was also at the meeting.
Ismail said the agreement does not include the political or personal interests of any one person or party. “They are all Kurdish points that Kurds have been struggling for since 1957,” he said.
The ENKS president said the agreement will be announced to the public early next week, after the Newroz holiday.
He confirmed that the agreement includes a demand for federalism, putting it in opposition to the interim constitution adopted by the transitional government in Damascus that cements authoritarian rule and has drawn criticism from Syria’s minority communities who have demanded it be re-written.
The PYD and ENKS have been long-time rivals, despite previous efforts to mediate between them.
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