Rival Kurdish groups in northeastern Syria said they had reached an initial agreement for what has long been an elusive goal — Kurdish unity — today, calling it “a significant historical step.” The announcement by opposition parties operating under the umbrella of the Kurdistan National Council (KNC) and those allied with the ruling Democratic Unity Party (PYD) follows US-mediated talks that began in April at a US military base outside the Kurdish-controlled city of Hasakah.
The sides said in a joint statement that they had “concluded the first round of the negotiations for Kurdish unity” and reached “a common political vision, agreeing on consideration for the 2014 Duhok Agreement on governance and partnership in administration and defense” as a basis to sustain the ongoing dialogue between the sides.