“All countries who oppose joining Kurds have their interests with Turkey and are under its pressure. Kurds are not enemies to Turkish people,” Saleh Muslim said adding that the ruling Turkish Justice and Development Party (AKP) and President Recep Tayyip Erdogan "should give up Kurdophobia for the good of nations.”
Muslim welcomed the Russian initiative to invite Kurds to the Geneva talks stressing that “negotiations will not be fruitful if Kurds excluded.” He added that at the moment there was no such invitation.
The previous round of Syrian talks wrapped up on March 24 after ten days of intense discussions. The round ended in delegates submitting their proposals on how to stop the conflict to UN Special Envoy for Syria Staffan de Mistura who then produced a final paper with points of convergence. The talks are expected to resume on April 11.
Turkey has strongly opposed the inclusion of the PYD in the reconciliation talks. Turkish President Erdogan and Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu repeatedly stated that Turkey makes "no distinction" between the PYD and the militant Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), which is outlawed in Turkey.
