Officials from different Syrian Kurdish parties made statements to local Kurdish media this week, which could negatively affect future talks between the main Syrian Kurdish parties.

One of those officials was Aldar Khalil, a member of the Co-presidency Body of the Democratic Union Party (PYD). In an interview with Ozgur Politika newspaper on Monday, Khalil claimed the Rojava Peshmerga were “mercenaries working for Turkey,” and that any future role for them in the military arena “is improbable.”

Aldar Khalil, a member of the Co-Presidency Body of the Democratic Union Party (PYD). In an interview with Ozgur Politika newspaper on Monday, Khalil claimed the Rojava Peshmerga were “mercenaries working for Turkey,” and that any future role for them in the military arena “is improbable.”

The Rojava Peshmerga is a military force of about 5,000 Syrian Kurdish fighters who fought against the so-called Islamic State near Mosul.

The PYD and the ENKS, the two major factions among Syrian Kurdish parties, renewed negotiations in early November in efforts to stand together as a united front after Turkey’s cross-border offensive in northern Syria in October 2019.

The Roj Peshmerga is the official military wing of the ENKS, while the People’s Protection Units (YPG) is close to the PYD.

Abdul Hakim Bashar is a co-founder and former president of the ENKS. He formed the party in October 2011 with support from the former president of the Kurdistan Region, Masoud Barzani.

In a statement he posted to Facebook on Tuesday, Bashar condemned the recent remarks Khalil made about the Roj Peshmerga. The former ENKS president said Khalil “is fully aware” that members of the Roj Peshmerga “are honest patriotic Kurds, and they belong to patriotic Kurdish families, whose history of struggle is decent.”

“They have fought in defense of Kurdistan, not against it,” the post continued. “They have fought the enemies of the Kurds, whatever their name might be, and their hands are not stained with the blood of the Kurds.”

Bashar even suggested the ENKS halts talks with the PYD until Khalil apologizes to the Ro Peshmerga “and all honorable Kurds.”

Indeed, ENKS head Saud al-Mullah told Kurdistan 24 last week that the return of the Roj Peshmerga, a military force of about 5,000 Syrian Kurdish fighters who fought against the so-called Islamic State near Mosul, is crucial to any agreement with the PYD.

“So far, the issue of [the Roj] Peshmerga’s return [to Rojava] has not been discussed as we are moving forward step by step,” Mullah told Kurdistan 24.

In the past, the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) and the PYD-affiliated YPG have refused the return of the Roj Peshmerga, arguing a military division could lead to a Kurdish civil war, similar to the conflict between Kurdish parties in the 1990s in the Kurdistan Region.

However, the ENKS argues that the Roj Peshmerga, as a native Syrian Kurdish force, has the right to return to Syrian Kurdistan.

It remains to be seen how this decision will affect ongoing talks between the ENKS and the PYD-linked Kurdish National Unity Parties (PYNK) who have previously held discussions for at least seven months. But the talks were temporarily halted due to the absence of American officials from Syria because of the recent US elections.

Last week, Democratic Left Party Secretary-General Salih Gheddo, a member of the leadership of the PYNK, told Kurdistan 24 he believes “the dialogue will restart after Joe Biden’s inauguration.”

“At this moment, we are discussing ‘administrative’ subjects on how the ENKS will participate as a partner in the Self-Administration,” Gheddo added.

“We have already completed the ‘Kurdish Reference’ [Supreme Body] subject, and we hope that during the next phase of the talks we can reach an agreement on administrative roles and the ENKS’s involvement.”

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