The Kurds, the largest ethnic minority and an integral part of the Syrian society, have received no official invitation to join the Syrian peace talks. The Syrian Kurdish Democratic Union Party (PYD) claims that its participation in the Syria peace talks was blocked by Ankara because of its assumed links to the pro-independence Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), active in southeastern Turkey and listed a terrorist organization by the latter.
"Turkey is doing everything to prevent the Kurds from participating in the Geneva talks. When we talk about Turkey, we mean [Turkish President Recep Tayyip] Erdogan, who bypassing all rules and regulations, has pinned down both the government and the parliament of the country," Laham said at the meeting with a delegations of Russian parliamentarians in Damascus.