MOSCOW (Sputnik) — Earlier on Wednesday, the co-chair of the Democratic Union Party (PYD) Asya Abdullah said that the Syrian Kurds were ready to take part in the conference on Syria in Geneva, but had not received an invitation to the event so far.
“Unfortunately, the meetings in Astana and Geneva are incomplete. Everyone should clearly understand that without the participation of the Kurds in all negotiations on Syria, the talks are doomed to failure and will not be successful. Unfortunately, Turkey plays a big role [in Syria settlement] and does not allow the Kurds to sit at the negotiating table,” Baydemir said.
Baydemir, who earlier in the day represented Turkish Kurdistan at the pan-Kurdish event, titled "The struggle for influence in the Middle East: the current state and possible outcomes," hosted by Russia's Federal National-Cultural Kurdish Autonomy, called on Russia to ensure Kurds' participation in all Syria peace negotiations.
On Tuesday, UN Special Envoy for Syria Staffan de Mistura’s spokeswoman Yara Sharif confirmed that the UN-brokered intra-Syrian negotiations in Geneva would begin on February 23.
Kurds did not attend the latest round of Geneva talks since Turkey and Syrian opposition have refused to allow them join the discussions. Russia has repeatedly urged the participating sides in the intra-Syrian talks to involve Kurdish representatives in the settlement process.
“We have a big request to Moscow to play an important role in the consolidation of peace in the whole Middle East region and also play a significant role in Kurds achieving equal rights and justice. [We have] a big request to Russia to play a positive role in resumption of peace talks between Kurds and the Turkish government, to play an active role and influence their renewal,” Baydemir told Sputnik.
Tensions between Ankara and the Turkish Kurds escalated in July 2015 when a ceasefire between Turkey and PKK collapsed over a series of terrorist attacks, allegedly committed by the Kurdish organizations, considered as terrorist groups by Ankara. In March 2016, Russia’s Foreign Ministry called on Ankara to resume dialogue with Kurds to find a political solution to the crisis.
