Syrian Kurds Not Obliged to Abide by Geneva Accords as Not Invited to Talks

Syrian Democratic Union Party (PYD) representative in Russia Abd Salam Ali said that the Syrian Kurds should have been invited to the talks from the very beginning and it would be too late to join them now.

MOSCOW (Sputnik) — Syrian Kurds reserve the right not to implement the points agreed at the intra-Syrian talks in Geneva, as the negotiations are being held without their participation, Syrian Democratic Union Party (PYD) representative in Russia Abd Salam Ali said Tuesday.

The Swiss city of Geneva is currently hosting UN-backed proximity talks between the Syrian opposition and a government delegation, in an effort to put an end to the deadly conflict. Kurdish representatives have not been invited to participate, although a source close to the negotiations told Sputnik earlier in the day that the Kurds would be invited toward the end of the current round.

"Whatever is decided [in Geneva], we reserve the right to decide whether to abide by it or not, depending on whether it is in our interests," the spokesman told RIA Novosti.

According to Ali, the Syrian Kurds should have been invited to the talks from the very beginning and it would be too late to join them now.

The Kurds are one of the largest ethnic groups in Syria. Participants of the peace process in the country, as well as Russia, have repeatedly stressed that the reconciliation talks would fail to reach a political settlement if the Syrian Kurds were not allowed to participate.