After Syrian Kurds meetings, Turkey says won't allow ‘terror corridor’ in northern Syria

<p style="text-align:left">In reaction to meetings between Kurdish groups in Syria, Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu stated on Saturday Ankara would not allow for the formation of a &amp;ldquo;terror corridor&amp;rdquo; to its south.

The Kurdistan National Council (ENKS), an umbrella group consisting of several Kurdish parties in the region, has been holding talks with the Democratic Union Party (PYD), as a part of efforts to build political unity.

Turkey sees the PYD as a terrorist organization due to its links to the Kurdistan Workers&rsquo; Party (PKK) which has been fighting a three-decade-long war against the Turkish state.

&ldquo;I told the ENKS that they should not make deals with the YPG (the armed wing of the PYD). We used to have talks with and support them. In February, each of them told me how the PKK/YPG had killed their relatives and jailed their close friends or family members - some are still in jail. They said they did not and would not unite with this terrorist organization,&rdquo; Rudaw quoted Cavusoglu as saying.

"Our attitude is very clear. We do not allow a terror corridor to be created in the region, nor do we allow the terrorists to be legitimized," the minister said.

A Turkish offensive targeting the Syrian-Kurdish forces in northern Syria in October has prompted Syrian Kurds to seek efforts to unite Kurdish political movements in the region.

Commander of the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) Mazloum Kobani met with the ENKS in early November following a meeting between the SDF commander and Kurdistan Region&rsquo;s President Nechirvan Barzani in Erbil.

A senior researcher at the Carnegie Endowment told KurdPress in an interview that the US and France are attempting to strengthen the Kurdish position in the possible negotiations over the future of Syria.

He believes that the US and France are following a common goal in mediating between main Kurdish movements in Syria and stated that &ldquo;I assume that the US and France are trying to improve the bargaining position of Syria's Kurds ahead of any future political talks involving the other main actors, i.e. the Assad regime, Russia, and Turkey.&rdquo;

Reporter&rsquo;s code: 50101

News Code 117974

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