PodcastENKS to reopen offices in northern Syria
The Syrian Kurdish National Council (ENKS) has officially announced it would reopen offices as a “gesture of good faith." "As a response to the calls made for the unity of the Kurdish position and as a gesture of good faith, the presidency of the Council decided to reopen its offices and the offices of its parties to bolster confidence and build on it to resolve most of the outstanding disputes," the ENKS said.
Duvar English
The Syrian Kurdish National Council (ENKS) has officially announced it would reopen offices as a “gesture of good faith” as part of ongoing attempts to strengthen ties with Kurdish authorities in northern Syria.
"As our supporters know, throughout the past years, offices of the Kurdish National Council in Syria and the offices of its parties were not closed based on the Council’s decisions, but rather by the decision of the Democratic Union Party and its gunmen, forcefully and through different types of prevention," Rudaw cited the ENKS as saying in a statement on Feb. 2.
The Kurdish camp in Syria is divided along two lines, with the ruling Kurdish parties in the Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria (NES) on one and the ENKS on the other.
The NES is supported by its military wing, the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF).
The NES said in a Dec. 17 statement that it would allow the ENKS to reopen offices in the region, but the latter refused to do so - citing a lack of trust in authorities.
"As a response to the calls made for the unity of the Kurdish position and as a gesture of good faith, the presidency of the Council decided to reopen its offices and the offices of its parties to bolster confidence and build on it to resolve most of the outstanding disputes," the council added.
On Jan. 30, Mikhail Bogdanov, Deputy Foreign Minister of the Russian Federation and Special Presidential Representative on the Middle East, urged Kurdish parties to unite, especially for future dialogue with the Syrian government.
"We always say that the Kurdish position has to be cohesive, united, constructive, and realistic to form the basis for dialogue with the other parties in a serious, responsible manner," he told Kurdish media outlets.
Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) commander Mazloum Abdi praised the decision by the ENKS "brothers" to reopen offices as an "important step."
"We praise this step and affirm our commitment to sparing no effort to bring perspectives together and unify the Kurdish ranks," Abdi said, adding that the move "contributes in an active manner to finding a just resolution for the Kurdish cause in Syria."