Rojava's main opposition says invited to meet with Syrian president

ERBIL, Kurdistan Region -The Kurdish National Council (KNC/ENKS) confirmed on Monday that it has been invited by Syrian interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa for a meeting in Damascus. This development could undermine the ongoing efforts to solidify Kurdish unity in northeast Syria (Rojava).

Faysal Yousef, spokesperson for the opposition umbrella group, told Rudaw late Monday that they are willing to accept the invitation but first need to discuss it with allies and Mazloum Abdi, commander-in-chief of the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) - de facto army of Rojava. 

“We are in talks [regarding the invitation]. They asked if we were ready for it. We said that we were ready, but we have emphasized that we will try to pave the way for the Kurdish -joint] delegation to negotiate with Ahmed al-Sharaa,” he said. 

ENKS and the ruling Democratic Union Party (PYD) held an unprecedented historic conference in Rojava’s Qamishli in April to create a unified Kurdish stance and form a joint Kurdish delegation to discuss Kurdish demands with the new government in Damascus. 

Damascus has yet to agree to receive the joint delegation and there have been several attempts by the interim government to separately meet with the ENKS. Some see this as an attempt to ruin Kurdish unity in Syria.  

It is not clear what Sharaa and the ENKS will discuss if the delegation accepts the invitation. 

The PYD-led Rojava administration has held several meetings without the participation of the ENKS since Abdi and Sharaa signed a landmark agreement in March to integrate the Kurdish region in northeast Syria and the SDF into the transitional government. 

However, fears among Kurds have risen following mass killings of Druze and Alawites earlier this year, with many fearing they could be the next target. These massacres were partially attributed to Damascus-affiliated forces.