Damascus Seeks Direct Talks with Kurdish Council, Aiming to Halt Fighting

ERBIL (Kurdistan24) - A senior leader of the Kurdish National Council in Syria (KNCS) has confirmed that the Syrian government has formally requested a delegation to travel to Damascus for talks, marking a potential new phase of political dialogue between Kurdish representatives and Damascus.

Suleiman Oso, head of the Kurdish Democratic Union Party in Syria and a member of the Presidential Council of the KNCS, told Kurdistan24’s correspondent in Western Kurdistan (Northern Syria), Raman Hasso, that contact was initiated directly by the Syrian Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

“Officials from the Syrian Foreign Ministry contacted us,” Oso said. “Initially, they requested that we submit the names of a joint Kurdish delegation. Later, they asked that we send only the names of the KNCS delegation members, which we did. They want to first meet with the KNCS leadership, and afterward with a joint Kurdish delegation.”

Regarding the timing of the meeting, Oso said that no final date has been set for the delegation’s visit to Damascus or for a meeting with the Syrian foreign minister. He explained that security arrangements are currently underway and that efforts are being made to organize the meeting as soon as possible.

“At this stage, the timing is not yet clear,” he said. “Security preparations are ongoing, and there are efforts to arrange the meeting at the earliest opportunity.”

Oso reaffirmed that KNCS remains committed to the outcomes of the April 26 Kurdish conference and to the joint delegation framework that emerged from that conference. He stressed that KNCS is prepared to engage at the highest political level in Damascus.

“We are ready to sit down with the Syrian president and the foreign minister to find a solution to the legitimate cause of our people,” Oso said.

He emphasized that the primary objective of this step is to halt fighting and clashes in Kurdish areas and to reach a comprehensive political settlement. According to Oso, KNCS seeks an immediate end to bloodshed and a political agreement that guarantees Kurdish rights within the framework of a new Syrian constitution.

“Our goal is to stop the bloodshed and to secure the rights of the Kurdish people within a new Syrian constitution,” he stated.

Oso also criticized previous approaches that prioritized military and security issues over political dialogue, describing them as a serious mistake that led to the current situation.

“Advancing military and security matters before political solutions was a major error,” he said. “That mistake brought the situation to where it is today. A political agreement must come first, and only then should security and military issues be addressed.”

The developments come as Mazloum Abdi, the General Commander of the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), traveled to Damascus on Tuesday, January 27, at the head of a delegation. Abdi held talks with Syrian Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shaibani, signaling parallel diplomatic engagement between Kurdish actors and the Syrian government.