Rojava parties blame each other for stalled unity talks

ERBIL, Kurdistan Region — Kurdish opposition and ruling political parties in northeast Syria (Rojava) each blame the other for a failure to resume unity talks that have been stalled since last summer.

“As we had announced before, Kurdish-Kurdish talks were supposed to resume after the US election and the arrival of the US ambassador to here. We, as PYNK, decided to resume the talks but we found out that our friends from the ENKS have some excuses. This caused the repeated suspension of talks,” Sama Bagdash, spokesperson for the ruling Democratic Union Party (PYD), told Rudaw on Thursday. 

She is also a member of the Kurdish National Unity Parties (PYNK) negotiation delegation. PYNK is an umbrella group of 24 parties, led by the PYD, and has been in talks with the Kurdish National Council (ENKS) since late 2019 to reach an agreement over power-sharing in Rojava and forming a united stance on the Kurdish issue in Syria. 

American officials in Syria have been mediating between the two sides since late 2019, leading to the creation of a committee to create a “common political vision” among Kurds. But talks stalled last summer and both sides resorted to a war of words through the media. US officials changed positions in the region recently, after the American election, which delayed the resumption of talks. 

"We are not the ones who suspended the talks, but others,” ENKS head Siud Mala told Rudaw on Thursday. “They [PYD] have accused the Peshmerga and the ENKS of bad things – we have been accused of treason and being mercenaries.”

ENKS’ membership in the Turkey-backed Syrian opposition has been labeled as treason by PYD officials and media in the past. 

Mala said they have faith the dialogue will succeed, but as long as accusations against ENKS continue, “There will be no talks,” he said.

In early February, US officials in Syria resumed discussions separately with both ENKS and PYNK, giving hope that they may return to the table. But no meetings have taken place. 

“They [ENKS] say that the PYNK should apologize and they bring up other excuses that do not serve the success of Kurdish-Kurdish talks. We believe that this stage is sensitive and we should act with a sense of responsibility. We can sit down and discuss the issues,” said Bagdash. 

PYNK and ENKS have been at loggerheads for years. The first talks between them took place in Kurdistan Region’s Duhok in 2014. Initiated by Masoud Barzani, then president of the Kurdistan Region, they ended in a deal that was never fully made public or implemented.

One of the outstanding issues is the return of ENKS-affiliated Roj Peshmerga forces. Bagdash said this matter should be dealt under the Duhok agreement, which has been endorsed by Mazloum Abdi, general commander of the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), who is supervising the talks. 

ENKS says the Duhok agreement no longer applies because the reality on the ground has changed. 

"Mazloum has said that the Peshmerga issues will be dealt with as per the Duhok agreement. However, things are different now. That was five years ago. The issue of Peshmerga has not been addressed. We have to resolve it, but the important thing is how to do that," said Mala. 

"Our Peshmerga fighters are sons of Syrian Kurdistan. They will defend their people and demands in Kurdish areas," he said, adding that the force will not fight in other parts of Syria.

PYD officials have said in the past that Rojava does not need another force because they have the SDF, while ENKS officials suggested incorporating the Roj Peshmerga into the SDF.