Mediation efforts led from Iraq’s Kurdistan region are gathering pace to avert a new escalation in northeastern Syria, as Damascus presses ahead with a Turkish-backed military campaign and Ankara seeks guarantees that Kurdish forces will be severed from the Kurdistan Workers Party.
The Syrian Democratic Forces have lost areas previously under their control following a military operation launched by Damascus and strongly backed by Ankara, aimed at asserting control over all Syrian territory, as Kurdish factions demand what they describe as fair representation in government.
Observers tend to believe Türkiye’s motivation for supporting the Syrian army’s offensive stems from fears that Kurdish self-rule in Syria could pave the way for secession. Ankara has repeatedly threatened to launch a military operation against Syrian Kurdish areas near its border unless SDF forces are integrated into the Syrian army.
Part of the solution
Politicians in Erbil are pushing to support political tracks that respect good neighborly relations with Türkiye and guarantee the rights of all components in Syria.
Dlawar Faeq, an adviser to the Kurdistan Regional Government, told Asharq Al-Awsat that Kurds in the Kurdistan region would remain part of the solution and a factor of stability in the region, as they have been since 1991.
Faeq said the vision of Kurds in Iraq’s Kurdistan aligns with a new, democratic, constitutional Syria that guarantees the rights of ethnic and religious components, while upholding principles of good neighborliness with Türkiye and other regional states and non-interference in internal affairs.
Kurds in the Kurdistan region are in contact with parties to the Syrian conflict, including actors in self-administration areas, authorities in Damascus, and the United States, Faeq said, adding that the goal of these contacts is to reach a permanent settlement.
In recent weeks, Masoud Barzani has held several contacts with Syrian President Ahmad al-Sharaa, US envoy Tom Barrack, and SDF commander Mazloum Abdi to bolster civil peace through dialogue and mutual understanding, according to statements issued by the Kurdistan Democratic Party since the crisis erupted.
Faeq warned that a military solution would harm Syria’s components and the Syrian state and could increase the likelihood of remnants of ISIS regrouping.
PKK as an obstacle
Despite these efforts, the Kurdistan Workers Party has emerged as a significant obstacle to ongoing understandings.
Abdulsalam Brwari, a member of the Kurdistan Democratic Party, said Erbil’s efforts to resolve the crisis and prevent escalation continue. Still, Türkiye views the situation with Syrian Kurds through the lens of the PKK, which has waged an armed insurgency against it for years.
Türkiye has launched a peace process with the outlawed party, conditional on its disarmament, but clashes in northern Syria now threaten to undermine negotiations between the two sides.
While Erbil understands Ankara’s concerns, it is trying to correct misunderstandings surrounding the Kurdish issue.
Brwari said Kurdish rights in Türkiye and Syria predate even the emergence of the PKK, adding that resolving the issue with the Kurdish people would eliminate any pretexts for escalation.
He described Erbil’s relations with Ankara as good, saying the Kurdistan region is working with Türkiye and the international community to resolve the issue between Syrian Kurds and the Syrian government, calling this the priority.
Developments involving Syrian Kurds have had repercussions inside Türkiye, where hundreds took part in angry protests against military operations in northeastern Syria.
This prompted Turkish authorities in the southeastern province of Mardin, bordering Syria, to impose a six-day ban on all protests and events on Monday.
Mediation moves slowly
Soran al-Dawoudi, a leader in the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan, said Iraq’s Kurdistan region is likely seeking to play an undeclared mediating role between Türkiye and Syrian Kurds, but within carefully calculated limits.
He told Asharq Al-Awsat that this complex role is primarily based on strong political and economic relations with Ankara, and longstanding communication channels with Syrian Kurdish actors, particularly those outside the influence of the PKK.
Al-Dawoudi said there are quiet, unofficial contacts between Erbil and influential Kurdish figures aimed at narrowing differences. Still, these face key obstacles, most notably Türkiye’s stance toward the People’s Protection Units, the armed wing of the Democratic Union Party and the backbone of the Syrian Democratic Forces, which Ankara views as an extension of the PKK.
He also pointed to another division deepening the crisis within the Syrian Kurdish arena between the Syrian Democratic Forces on one side and the Kurdish National Council on the other.
Despite attempts by the Kurdistan region to sustain dialogue, al-Dawoudi said the impact of this mediation remains limited and is moving slowly.
Still, the repeated arrival of key figures involved in the crisis in Erbil has fueled optimism among politicians such as al-Dawoudi that the city could serve as a suitable venue for genuine understanding among Damascus, Ankara, the Kurdish parties, and Washington.
