Under pressure from Turkey, UN excludes PYD from Syria talks
Turkey has won the battle over the Syrian Kurdish nationalist Democratic Union Party by blackmailing the United States into leaving the group out of the Geneva III talks.
In Brussels, Al-Monitor followed the behind-the-scenes developments regarding the UN-sponsored Geneva III talks on Syria.
Complications arose with the Syrian Kurdish representation as a third party to negotiate with the Damascus regime on ending the war, creating a peaceful political transition, implementing a cease-fire and finding ways to provide humanitarian aid.
The Geneva meetings mark the first step of the Vienna Process initiated by US Secretary of State John Kerry and Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, with regional representatives from Turkey, Iran and Saudi Arabia, among others, on board.
One of the thorniest issues had been the composition of the Syrian opposition delegation, whose legitimacy has come under scrutiny.
