Politics

US officials meet with Syrian Kurdish opposition in Washington: US Embassy Syria

US officials reaffirmed Washington’s “support for stability in northeast Syria and a political solution as outlined in UNSCR 2254.”

Wladimir van Wilgenburg 2021/10/08 22:43

KNC officials last week met with US officials in Washington DC (Photo: Ibrahim Biro/Facebook)

Syria Syria SDC KNC Washington DC

ERBIL (Kurdistan 24) – Members of the Kurdish National Council (KNC) and the Syrian Negotiation Commission met with US officials in Washington last week, the US Embassy in Syria confirmed in a tweet on Friday.

KNC officials Abdul Hakim Bashar, vice-president of the National Coalition of Syrian Revolution and Opposition Forces, and Ibrahim Biro as part of the Negotiation Committee of the Syrian opposition, joined a meeting with US Deputy Envoy to Syria David Brownstein and Ethan A. Goldrich, US Deputy Assistant Secretary Bureau of Near Eastern Affairs last week.

DAS Goldrich and Senior Representative to Northeast Syria Brownstein met w/ representatives of the Kurdish National Council and the Syrian Negotiation Commission to reaffirm U.S. support for stability in northeast Syria and a political solution as outlined in UNSCR 2254. pic.twitter.com/D3sVse5IXM
— U.S. Embassy Syria (@USEmbassySyria) October 8, 2021

According to the US Embassy in Syria, the US officials reaffirmed Washington’s “support for stability in northeast Syria and a political solution as outlined in UNSCR 2254.”

UN Security Council Resolution (UNSCR) 2254 adopted in 2015 calls for a ceasefire and a political settlement in Syria.

The KNC was part of a delegation from the Syrian opposition that met with officials in both New York and Washington DC between September 20 and October 2, Ibrahim Biro confirmed in a Facebook post.

He said in all these meetings, the Syrian crisis and the political solution were “discussed in accordance with international resolutions and the work of the Constitutional Committee.”

He said the KNC had its own role during these meetings to present its case.

Delegations from both the KNC, which is part of a larger Syrian opposition delegation, and the Democratic Union Party (PYD)-linked Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria (AANES) were both in the US in late September to lobby for their respective causes.

During the September-October visit, White House officials reportedly promised the AANES delegation that they will continue to support the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), the PYD-backed Syrian Democratic Council (SDC) said in a press statement.

Also, an SDC delegation led by Ilham Ahmed, President of the SDC, met with Goldrich and Joey Hood, the US Acting Assistant Secretary of State for Near Eastern Affairs, during a visit to Washington in late September.

The KNC, part of the Turkey-based Syrian Arab opposition, has been in several political disputes with the local administration of Syria’s Kurdish-held northern areas, led by the PYD.

Both delegations left the United States last week. An SDC delegation is now in the United Kingdom to improve relations with the UK.

The two parties previously held talks for several months in an initiative supported by the US and SDF since 2020 to resolve their disputes. However, since the November 2020 US presidential elections, the talks have been suspended despite US calls on both sides to resume the negotiations.

Hood, in early September, talked to both the KNC and parties linked to the PYD and “urged all parties to engage in direct talks to build shared solutions to the problems that the people of northeast Syria are facing.”

Nicholas Heras, a Senior Analyst and Program Head for State Resilience and Fragility at Newlines, told Kurdistan 24 that “the United States is trying to send the signal to Turkey that it has a balanced approach to Syria’s Kurds.”

“The KNC is a weak player on the ground in Syria but it has a loud voice in Ankara. The Biden team is throwing a bone to (Turkish President Recep Tayyip) Erdogan through this dialogue.”