PYD/YPG participation in Astana talks ‘unacceptable’: presidential spox

Turkey’s Presidential Spokesman İbrahim Kalın on Wednesday said it was unacceptable to invite the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK)-affiliated Democratic Union Party (PYD) or People’s Protection Units (YPG) to the Astana talks.

“We are not against inviting Kurds who are not linked to the PYD or YPG, but we cannot accept the presence of the PKK-affiliated PYD and YPG in Astana,” he stated.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov had said that Moscow was pushing for the groups to be included in the Syria peace talks.

The PKK has been conducting armed violence in the southeastern part of Turkey since 1984. More than 40,000 people, mostly civilians, have been killed in the three-decade long conflict.

Sources confirmed on Tuesday that Russia had invited the terrorist groups in northern Syria to a proposed congress of Syria's rival parties in November.

Kalın said Turkish and Russian officials had discussed the issue and that he had held meetings of his own to "solve the problem on the spot."

The presidential spokesman reiterated that Turkey expected the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) to take steps jointly with the Iraqi central government.

“Everyone’s expectations from Erbil, not just Turkey, is to annul the referendum. The point we have reached currently is that the referendum is essentially void. Turkey warned that if the referendum was held, they would lose what they had gained in 10 years. They retreated from Kirkuk and other disputed areas, and border control points are under the control of the central Baghdad government. Our expectation is that the KRG takes steps jointly with the Iraqi central government. We are people of the same region. We do not want Iraqi Kurds to suffer. That is why we did not limit passage through the Habur border gate.

“New formations are emerging with the transfer of duties. The Erbil administration needs to take various steps. As steps toward normalization are taken, we can evaluate various requests,” said Kalın.

Kalın condemned Tuesday’s terrorist attack in New York that claimed the lives of at least eight people.

“We strongly condemn the terror attack in New York. I would like to issue a warning regarding any possible debate of the name or the race of the suspect. We must underline that suspects are identified as a lone wolf or someone with psychological problems unless they have a Muslim name, which causes them to be branded as terrorists. Terror has no religion, language or race,” Kalın said.

The victims were killed when a motorist drove onto a pedestrian and cycling path near the West Side Highway in Manhattan in what a U.S. official described as an "act of terror.”