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Syrian Kurds jockey for seat at Geneva talks

As long as the Assad regime and the opposition fail to come to an agreement, Syria’s Kurds will continue to consolidate their gains.
A Kurdish female fighter from Kurdish People's Protection Units (YPG) checks her weapon near Ras al-Ain, in the province of Hasakah, after capturing it from Islamist rebels November 6, 2013. Redur Xelil, spokesman for the armed wing of the Syrian Kurdish Democratic Union Party (PYD), said Kurdish militias had seized the city of Ras al-Ain and all its surrounding villages. Syrian Kurdish fighters have captured more territory from Islamist rebels in northeastern Syria, a Kurdish militant group said on Monday,
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As the proposed Geneva II conference which is expected be held on Jan. 22 — not in Geneva, but in Montreux for lack of hotel space — draws nearer, Syria’s Kurds are scrambling to secure a seat at the negotiating table.

Saleh Muslim, the co-chairman of the most influential Syrian Kurdish party, the Democratic Unity Party (PYD) told Al-Monitor in an exclusive interview in Brussels on Dec. 7, that Geneva II represents an historic opportunity for his people to press for their long suppressed rights.

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