Putin and Erdogan to discuss the participation of Kurdish Democratic Union Party in Syrian settlement process during Erdogan's visit to Russia
During a visit to Moscow on November 13, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan will discuss the participation of the Kurdish Democratic Union Party (PYD) in the Syrian National Dialogue Congress with Russian leader Vladimir Putin, NTV news channel reported.
Putin and Erdoğan will also discuss the fight against terrorism in Syria and Iraq. After the visit to Moscow, the Turkish president will leave for Kuwait on November 14.
On November 1, Erdoğan's spokesman, Ibrahim Kalin, said that Turkey considers PYD’s participation in the Syrian National Dialogue Congress to be unacceptable. According to Kalin, the Turkish side is not generally opposed to the participation of Kurds in the negotiations.
However, PYD is considered a branch of the Kurdistan Workers' Party, which is recognized by Ankara as a terrorist group. "For us, the participation of a terrorist group in the Astana process is unacceptable," Erdoğan's spokesman said. According to Kalin, Turkey has noted its dissatisfaction with other Congress participants.
The Syrian National Dialogue Congress is scheduled to take place November 18 in Sochi. 33 Syrian political groups are expected to participate. The Congress will be held based on the initiative of Putin, who spoke about it on October 19 at a meeting of the Valdai Discussion Club.
"Self-Defense Forces" (HXP) form the military wing of PYD, and are among the "Syrian Democratic Forces" (SDF), supported by the United States. The SDF troops played a key role in the liberation of the Syrian Raqqa from militants of the "Islamic State" (IS), a terrorist organization banned in Russia. Turkey has repeatedly expressed its dissatisfaction with US support of the Kurds.