Syrian US-backed forces denounce exclusion from Astana peace talks

QAMISHLO, Syrian Kurdistan (Kurdistan24) – The Kurdish-led, US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) on Sunday criticized their exclusion from the peace talks backed by Russia and Turkey in Kazakhstan.

Speaking to Kurdistan24, Colonel Talal Silo, an SDF spokesperson, said excluding their forces from any talks would hinder any resolution for the Syrian crisis.

“Excluding us [SDF] means the continuation of the Syrian crisis because we are the main force fighting against terrorism,” he said.

Additionally, Silo pointed out the SDF controls about 30 percent of the Syrian territories.

“Our forces contain elements from all ethnic and religious factions in Syria,” he said.

Regarding the possible results of the Syrian peace talks in Astana, Silo said the discussion would fail because of the exclusion of one of the main internationally supported forces.

“[SDF] will not be bound by any decisions taken in the peace talks,” he said.

The peace talks are scheduled to start on Jan. 23 in Astana, the capital of Kazakhstan.

The only Syrian Kurdish faction invited to the Astana talks is the Kurdish National Council (ENKS), an umbrella body based in Erbil, made up of smaller Syrian Kurdish political parties.

On the other hand, the Syrian Kurdish groups YPG, PYD, and TEV-DEM that control large areas of northern Syria were excluded from last year’s peace talks in Switzerland as well.

Syrian peace discussions held in 2016 known as Geneva III also excluded the main Kurdish groups in line with the wishes of Turkey.

On Tuesday, Sihanouk Dibo, the PYD presidential advisor in the city of Qamishlo, told Kurdistan24 the Kurdish-led administration’s exclusion from the peace talks would exacerbate the Syrian crisis.

“Any talks without the real powerful forces in Rojava and northern Syria will definitely fail,” he said.

The United States, which proposed to include the PYD in the talks, was not invited to Astana.

Editing by Karzan Sulaivany