Kurdish National Council participates in Astana talks

Representatives of the Kurdish National Council in Syria (KNC) will participate in the talks on Syria planned for January 23, 2017 in the Kazakh capital Astana. Ibrahim Biro (president of the KNC) and ʿAbdulhakim Bashar (representative of the KNC in the High Negotiations Committee of the Syrian opposition) were invited to the meeting initiated by Russia, Turkey and Iran.

Ibrahim Biro stated with regard to the meeting: “We are very pleased to present the interests of the Kurdish population and of all Syrians striving to establish a democratic Syria in Astana. Moreover, we think it was a good decision not to invite the PYD. The PYD’s exclusion is due to the party’s irresponsible politics in Syria: its cooperation with the Assad regime, the persecution of all dissenters, reflected in arbitrary arrests, torture and censorship of the press, and the fact that the PYD hasn’t any sound concept for the future of the Kurdish regions in Syria.”