Kurds Waiting for April HNC Talks to Decide Whether to Take Part in Geneva Talks

The issue of the Kurds' future participation in the High Negotiations Committee (HNC) delegation for the intra-Syrian talks will be decided after the HNC holds a coordinational meeting in Riyadh in April, Kurdish representative at the HNC delegation Abdul Hakim Bashar told Sputnik.

GENEVA (Sputnik) — Earlier in the day, three members of the HNC delegation in Geneva who represent the Kurds and the Kurdish National Council there, including Abdul Hakim Bashar, made an official statement announcing the Kurds' suspension of participation in the delegation and meetings at this round of talks.

"We are now waiting for the next meeting of the HNC in Riyadh in April to see what will be the future of our participation in the HNC … So far, we have frozen our participation in the HNC meetings," Bashar said.

On Sunday, Syrian Kurds at the Geneva talks reportedly put forward two options aimed at solving the Kurdish issue — territorial separation of the Kurdish autonomy from Syria or making Syria into a confederation.

The fifth round of talks on Syrian crisis settlement kicked off on March 23 and is due to conclude on Friday.