As conditions shift in Syria, Kurds open to talks with Damascus
Factors pushing Syrian Kurds to consider negotiating with the Syrian government include their loss of Afrin and the US-Turkey accord on Manbij.
Actions by the United States, Turkey and Russia could be driving Kurds into the awkward embrace of the Syrian regime.
First, Russia gave the green light in January for Turkey's Operation Olive Branch against the Kurdish People's Protection Units (YPG) in Afrin, Syria. (Turkey considers the YPG a terrorist-affiliated group.) Then earlier this month, the United States and Turkey agreed on a plan for the future of Syria's Manbij, a city the YPG controlled until recently. That future doesn't include the YPG, which had helped a US-led coalition's efforts to drive the Islamic State (IS) out of Syria.
Given that Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's forces helped the YPG fight Turkey in Afrin — an unexpected gesture that ultimately proved futile — it's not a complete surprise that the Kurds would consider turning to the regime under the current circumstances. Seeing their options limited, Kurds sent out the message: “We are ready to negotiate with Damascus.” And they did not turn away a delegation Assad dispatched in early June to Syrian Kurdistan.
A Kurdish source who spoke with Al-Monitor on condition of anonymity said Kurds will now disregard entities intent on dividing Syria and will hear what Damascus has to offer.
