Syria in talks as US forces pull out

THE Syrian government hopes dialogue with Syrian Kurdish groups will intensify, a minister said yesterday, signalling support for talks that the Kurds hope will lead to a political deal between two of the main players in the multi-sided war.

The Kurds have sought Russian mediation for the talks with President Bashar al-Assad’s government, part of their strategy to fill a vacuum that will be left when US forces withdraw from the country, as instructed by President Donald Trump.

Their aim is to guard against any invasion by neighbouring Turkey, which views the main Syrian Kurdish group, the YPG, as a national security threat, and to preserve autonomy in northern Syria.

A political deal could piece back together the two biggest chunks of a country splintered by eight years of war, leaving one corner of the northwest in the hands of anti-Assad rebels backed by Turkey – an adversary of both the YPG and Damascus.

Russia said it was important for the Kurds and government to start talking in light of US plans.