ERBIL, Kurdistan Region – Turkey’s opposition Nationalist Movement Party leader urges Russia to exclude the Kurdish Democratic Union Party (PYD) in planned Syria peace talks in Sochi early next year. "If the PYD attends the congress in Sochi as either a party or interlocutor, any talk of territorial integrity, independence, and sovereignty rights will lose its meaning and content," Devlet Bahceli said on Tuesday when speaking to his party’s lawmakers as reported by Anadolu Agency. "The PYD means the PKK, and the PKK means enemy, terrorism, proven traitorousness, and the dishonor which dropped bombs on innocent people,” Bahceli said, referring to the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK). Bahceli reiterated that his party backs the Syrian National Dialogue Congress to be held in the Russian city of Sochi in February, but stressed Turkey’s opposition to any PYD involvement. Although the PYD’s attendance at the congress is uncertain, Bahceli added, “Turkey is against it but Russia unfortunately is going along with it.” Turkey’s objections to Syrian Kurdish groups, however, will not derail new peace efforts, the Kremlin stated on Thursday. "We know that there are certain reservations on the part of our Turkish partners with regards to the forces they believe pose a threat to their national security," Dmitry Peskov, Kremlin spokesperson, told reporters in Sochi. "But this does not mean that work will not be conducted.” Peskov was referring to the latest Syrian peace effort, announced by Russian President Vladimir Putin in Sochi on Wednesday after meeting with his Iranian and Turkish counterparts. Putin, with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Iranian President Hassan Rouhani agreed to hold a Syrian National Dialogue Congress with regime and opposition forces in Sochi. This congress will “gather representatives of different political parties, internal and external opposition,” Putin said. They would discuss “the parameters of the future state.” Kurdish forces are the leading group within the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), fighting ISIS alongside the US-led coalition in northern Syria. The SDF now control about a quarter of Syrian territory, yet they have been left out of the Geneva and Astana peace processes. Elham Ahmed, co-chair of the Syrian Democratic Council, the SDF’s political wing, said on Thursday that leaving the main fighting force out of talks confirms a global unwillingness to resolve the Syrian crisis. She added that it is impossible for other actors to make decisions about areas under SDF control.
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