Turkey vetoes PKK/PYD presence at Sochi talks

Turkey has vetoed the involvement of the PKK/PYD or any other related groups at a planned Syrian National Dialogue Congress in the Black Sea resort of Sochi.

Turkish officials, who were in Astana to discuss the Sochi meeting with Russian and Iranian counterparts, reiterated Turkey's stance on the issue, according to diplomatic sources who spoke on condition of anonymity.

On Thursday, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said all participants in the Syria talks in Geneva would be invited to the Sochi gathering.

“The list of participants confirmed by the Russian, Turkish and Iranian leaders will definitely be announced tomorrow [Friday] in Astana,” Lavrov said.

However, Turkey is opposed to the involvement of the PKK/PYD terrorist organizations.

Turkish authorities have repeatedly expressed they would reject the presence of any terrorist groups at Syria talks.

An eighth round of peace talks aimed at ending the Syria conflict began Thursday in Kazakhstan’s capital Astana and will end on Friday.

The Turkish delegation is chaired by the deputy undersecretary of the Foreign Ministry, Sedat Onal, while Alexander Lavrentiev, the Russian president's special envoy for Syria, leads his delegation, and Deputy Foreign Minister Hossein Jaberi Ansari heads Iran’s.

Representatives of the Syrian regime, armed opposition groups, as well as delegations from the UN, Jordan and the U.S. are also participating in the talks.