'US envoy Jeffrey to announce deal between rival Kurdish groups in NE Syria'

Duvar English

U.S. special envoy for Syria James Jeffrey met with rival Kurdish groups in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq to show support for alliance among the parties and is expected to announce an agreement, Kurdish news outlet Rûdaw reported on Sept. 21.

The meeting reportedly took place in an American base in near al-Hasakah and focused on the joint administration being fleshed out between the Kurdish National Council in Syria (ENKS) and the opposition Kurdish National Unity Parties (PYNK).

While Jeffrey will reportedly visit the de facto autonomous region of northern Syria known as Rojava on Sept. 21, he is expected to announce the signing of a deal between the rival parties "to form the highest Kurdish authority."

A recent deal suggested by the U.S. for Northern Syria Kurds allocated 40 percent of parliament seats to each the ENKS and opposition PYNK, distributing the remainder among other parties.

The PYNK is a newly-established umbrella group jointly led by the PYD, deemed a Syrian offshoot of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), which Ankara names as a terrorist organization.

The ENKS is another major bloc that includes several political parties, main opposition to the PYD and its autonomous administration in northeast Syria. 

"Jeffrey's visit aims to convey the United States' stance on Syria and Rojava to Kurdish parties," a Kurdistan Democratic Party of Syria (PDK-S) official said of the meeting.

"James Jeffrey said that he supports alliance among Kurdish parties in Rojava," ENKS councilman Fesla Yusuf added.

US suggested power-sharing deal for N Syria that gives equal representation to rival Kurdish groups: Report