The head of the Kurdish National Council, Abdulbaset Sieda, said the Democratic Union Party (PYD) is coordinating with the Assad regime and must not be allowed to sit with the opposition on the same table before clarifying its position, “Not only by attitudes but through executive steps on the ground."
In a press statement, Sieda said: "Russia acts as if the Democratic Union Party is the only representative of the Kurds, but the PYD is just a political party and an offshoot of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party, which has its own agenda. Russia ignores the Kurdish National Council, which is represented in the Syrian National Coalition, and the Kurdish bloc, even though these two bodies have attended the Riyadh conference."
Sieda explained that in the selection phase of the figures that would participate in the recent Riyadh Conference, the US was pushing for the participation of the PYD on the basis of coordination on the ground in the fight against the Islamic State (ISIS). “We, as a Kurdish bloc, did not want to exclude the PYD from the conference, but there was an agreement to exclude it because it is not part of the opposition that demands the departure of Assad," he said.
Sieda pointed out that the Democratic Union Party rejects anyone who disagrees with its ideology, stressing: "Our disagreement with it is not existential, but on the political line, despite that, we emphasize our willingness to make greater efforts to separate it from the regime."
This article was translated and edited by The Syrian Observer. Responsibility for the information and views set out in this article lies entirely with the author.
