FM: Turkey To Boycott Syria Talks If PYD Invited
Strasbourg,17 Rabiul Akhir 1437/27 January 2016 (MINA) – Ankara will boycott UN-sponsored Syria peace talks in Geneva if the Democratic Union Party (PYD) is invited to the table, said Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu on Tuesday.
The PYD is the Syrian extension of the PKK, which is considered a terrorist organization by Turkey, the U.S. and the EU, Mi’raj Islamic News Agency (MINA) reported, quoting Anadolu Agency.
“Under what title will PYD sit at the table? Could a terrorist organization be a representative of [Syrian Kurdish] people,” he said during a live interview with Turkish private NTV news channel in Strasbourg, where he came to attend the Winter Session of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe.
His remarks came before the Syria peace talks scheduled for Friday in Geneva, for which the invitations have been sent after delay by disagreements over which opposition factions should participate to decide on the political process to end the five-year-old conflict.
“Will al-Qaeda and Nusra Front be able to take a seat at the table? The negotiation will be made between the opposition and the regime. Terrorist groups are out of the question,” he said.
Cavusoglu reiterated Turkey’s opposition against the involvement of the PYD or its armed wing, the People’s Protection Units (YPG), in the peace negotiations.
He also ruled out presence of separate opposition groups for Syrian Turkmens or Arabs as the opposition delegation at the table will consist of them all.
“They say the PYD will not be invited, but if it is invited we will certainly boycott the Geneva talks,” he added.
Turkey’s top diplomat stressed that Ankara was previously promised that the PYD would not be included in the talks.
“[If it happens], it will also tarnish the opposition’s reputation. It will not be an advantage but a disadvantage for them to be intimate with terrorist groups,” he also said.
Earlier in the day, Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu said Ankara regarded the Syrian Kurds’ attendance at the table as a necessity, when he addressed a meeting of his ruling Justice and Development (AK) Party in Ankara.
During an interview to CNN’s Christiane Amanpour on Monday, Davutoglu said those treating the PYD as a legitimate partner “do not live in the reality of the region”.
“Nobody can convince us that [PYD] is for peace”, he said.
Turkey has repeatedly accused the PYD of cooperating with the regime forces of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.
The five-year civil war in Syria has seen more than 250,000 killed and led to more than 10.5 million fleeing their homes, according to the UN. (T/P010/R03)
Mi’raj Islamic News Agency (MINA)
