Kurdish leaders in Iraq and Syria are pledging to collaborate closely to advance Kurdish rights in Syria following the fall of President Bashar al-Assad’s regime last month.
In a rare meeting near Irbil, the capital of the Kurdistan Region of Iraq, Masoud Barzani, the longtime leader of the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP), the ruling party in Iraqi Kurdistan, held talks Thursday with Mazloum Abdi, commander of the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF).
The meeting has renewed hopes for unity among Syrian Kurdish factions, which have long been divided by political and ideological differences.
“The two leaders discussed the current situation in Syria, including the latest security and political developments,” Barzani’s office said in a statement following the Thursday meeting. Both leaders emphasized the importance of establishing a unified Kurdish front in Syria, the statement added.
Abdi, whose SDF controls nearly one-third of Syria’s territory, said his discussions with the Iraqi Kurdish leader centered on the transitional process in Syria following the ouster of Assad’s regime by rebel forces.
“Together, we reaffirmed that the Kurdish position in Syria must be unified and that dialogue with Damascus must peacefully protect the rights of Kurdish people,” he wrote on the social media platform X on Friday.
The Kurdish region in northeast Syria has largely been governed by political groups affiliated with the SDF since 2012, after government forces withdrew to fight rebel groups elsewhere in the country. Since then, a Kurdish-led autonomous administration has expanded into some Arab-majority areas in eastern Syria, particularly as the SDF, with support from a U.S.-led global coalition, played a key role in defeating the Islamic State terror group.
There is also the Kurdish National Council in Syria (ENKS), which is a coalition of Kurdish parties that are opposed to SDF’s political affiliates. ENKS has ties with Barzani’s KDP and Turkey.
Experts suggest that the evolving dynamics in the Middle East present a valuable opportunity for Kurdish groups to advance their cause.
“As regional powers face mounting challenges — Syria’s future remains uncertain, Iran’s military influence and its axis of resistance continue to wane, and tensions between Turkey and Israel escalate — the prospects for Kurdish unity are growing,” said Loqman Radpey, a research fellow at the Middle East Forum.
He told VOA by email that the recent meeting in Irbil mirrors those shifting dynamics in the region.
However, these Kurdish efforts for unity come amid persistent threats by Turkey against the SDF. Ankara views the Kurdish group as an extension of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), designated as a terrorist organization by Turkey, the U.S. and the European Union. Turkish officials have threatened military action to eliminate the SDF if it refuses to disarm.
Syria’s new authorities, which are backed by Turkey and led by Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, a U.S.-designated terrorist organization, have also called for the disbandment of the SDF and the integration of its members into the country’s new Defense Ministry. However, the SDF has stated it will not lay down its arms without a genuine political process in Syria, one in which it can play a key role in shaping the country’s future military.
Barzani, the former president of the Kurdistan Region, holds substantial influence among Syrian Kurds and maintains ties with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. Experts say this positions him to play a pivotal role in mediating between Syrian Kurdish groups and Turkey.
“For quite a long time, President Barzani has leveraged his personal and political relationships with key actors in both the Kurdish and Turkish camps when the time was right to defuse tension and broker peace,” said Yerevan Saeed, director of the Global Kurdish Initiative for Peace at American University in Washington.
“I think what sets Barzani apart is not just his diplomatic acumen, but his deep understanding of the Kurdish cause and the regional power dynamics at play,” he told VOA by email.
Saeed noted that the Kurdish question is inherently transnational, and addressing it demands a comprehensive approach.
“This is why Kurdish leaders across borders must meet, coordinate and strategize together to ensure that rare opportunities are not squandered,” he said.
This story originated in VOA’s Kurdish Service.
