Intra-Syrian Talks Will Be 'Just Meeting' Without Kurdish Representation

MOSCOW (Sputnik) — The negotiations between the Syrian government and the opposition would be "just a meeting" which would not lead to any results if there are no Kurdish representatives, the head of the Syrian Kurds’ representative office in Moscow said Saturday.

"The Kurds have still not received an invitation to participate in intra-Syrian talks. However, these talks will not be consistent without us. They could be called consultations or just a meeting which is unlikely to bring practical results," Rodi Osman told RIA Novosti.

Osman stressed that Kurds controlled significant territories in Syria.

"It would be logical to invite us to take part in the talks, but there are forces which are trying to not allow this," Osman added.

The Geneva talks between the government of Syria and the representatives of the Syrian opposition began on January 29. UN special envoy to Syria Staffan de Mistura said on February 3 that the talks came to a temporary pause. The resumption of the intra-Syrian negotiation process is expected on February 25.

Syrian Kurds have been fighting against the Islamic State (IS) militant group, which is outlawed in many countries, including Russia, for years. The Syrian Kurdish Democratic Union Party claims that its participation in the intra-Syrian talks was blocked by Ankara because of its assumed links to the pro-independence Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) militant movement, which is active in southeastern Turkey.

In January, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said the intra-Syrian reconciliation talks would fail to reach a political settlement unless the Syrian Kurds were allowed to participate in the process.