Istanbul: The leader of the main Syrian Kurdish political party is in Turkey for secret talks with intelligence officials as the battle rages with militants for the Syrian town of Ain Al Arab, Turkish media said on Sunday.
The leader of the Democratic Union Party (PYD) Saleh Muslim held talks with officials from Turkey’s intelligence agency, the National Intelligence Organisation (MIT), in Ankara on Saturday, the Hurriyet daily reported, quoting security sources.
The meeting came after Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu last week held talks with Selahattin Demirtas, the co-chairman of Turkey’s pro-Kurdish People’s Democratic Party (HDP) who asked Ankara to help Kurds in the fight for Ain Al Arab, also known as Kobani.
According to Hurriyet, the Turkish officials encouraged Muslim’s PYD to join forces with the Free Syrian Army (FSA) which has been battling the Syrian regime of President Bashar Al Assad.
President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has for years pressed for the ousting of Al Assad and wants this to remain a clear goal amid the battle against Daesh militants.
The PYD is linked to the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK), which waged a deadly insurgency in Turkey for the last three decades but has largely observed a ceasefire since 2013.
Turkey has previously shown little interest in developing links with the PYD because of its links with the PKK, which is regarded as a terrorist group by Ankara.
Muslim was told in Ankara the PYD should distance itself from the PKK and also clearly state its opposition to Al Assad’s regime. But he was also offered the prospect of logistical support for the group’s fight against militants, the reports said.
