Kurds Plan Talks in Damascus as Visions for Syria Diverge

Kurds Plan Talks in Damascus as Visions for Syria Diverge

     Syrian Kurdish parties are preparing to send a delegation to Damascus soon to discuss the political future of their region. Despite resistance from the current Islamist-backed government, Kurdish leaders remain determined to pursue their goal of regional autonomy within a future federal Syria.

     More than six months after the fall of Bashar al-Assad, Kurdish demands for self-rule have become one of the central points of contention in shaping the new Syria. These demands are strongly opposed by interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa and key regional powers, particularly Turkey.

    Kurdish groups—long marginalized under Assad—recently united around a shared political vision calling for the unification of Kurdish-majority areas into a single administrative and political entity within a federal framework. The declaration, backed by both the Democratic Union Party (PYD) and its main rival, the Kurdish National Council (ENKS), will serve as the foundation for negotiations with the Damascus government.

     “Our Kurdish vision document will be the basis for negotiations with Damascus,” said Aldar Xelil, a senior member of the PYD's presidential council, in an interview with Reuters. “The delegation is close to being ready,” he added. However, he acknowledged that progress may be difficult, noting the government’s position remains “inflexible.”

     Although a March agreement aimed at integrating Kurdish-led security forces and local administrations into the central state was signed, little ground has been gained in bridging political differences.

     The Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), a powerful force backed by the United States, continue to play a major role in northeastern Syria. However, the government in Damascus has rejected Kurdish proposals, insisting that no “partition or separatist cantons” can be established without national consensus. The Kurdish groups, in turn, have dismissed the government's unilateral constitutional declaration, which concentrates power in Sharaa’s hands and reinforces the role of Islamic law.

     “We seek dialogue and participation,” Xelil emphasized, while also warning that unless Kurdish security and political rights are guaranteed constitutionally and legally, discussing disarmament would be “futile.”

     Calls for federalism have gained traction, especially following last month's massacres of Alawite civilians by Islamist militants in western Syria. Some members of the Alawite community are also beginning to voice support for decentralized governance.

     Turkey, which now holds considerable sway in Syria’s future, remains strongly opposed to any Kurdish autonomy. President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan dismissed federalism proposals as “nothing more than a raw dream.” Turkey's resistance largely stems from the PYD's links to the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), which recently announced its dissolution and the end of its decades-long armed conflict with Turkey.

     According to Xelil, the PKK’s decision should influence Ankara's position. “Turkey used the presence of the PKK, or groups influenced by it, as a pretext for attacking northeastern Syria,” he said. “Now, there is no longer such a pretext.”

References:

Reuters. (2025, May 22). Kurds plan Damascus talks as visions for Syria collide. Retrieved from https://www.reuters.com