Baladi News
A PYD Kurdish official blamed Bashar Assad's ally Russia for the stalled negotiations between Kurdish-led authorities and the Syrian government.
The official, who spoke late Thursday, said efforts made so far have failed to reach a political deal
The Kurdish-led authorities revived efforts to negotiate a deal with Damascus earlier this year in the wake of a US decision to withdraw its forces from their areas, hoping Moscow would mediate an agreement that would preserve their autonomy, Reuters reported.
However, the situation has changed significantly since then, with Washington deciding to keep some troops in Syria and the Syrian government threatening Kurdish-led forces with military action if they do not submit to its rule.
Badran Jia Kurd, a Syrian Kurdish official involved in the political track, said: "The Russians froze the initiative which Russia was supposed to carry out and it did not begin negotiations with Damascus."
"Russia is still claiming that it is working on that initiative but to no avail," he told Reuters.
The main Syrian Kurdish groups are not hostile to Assad and say their goal is to preserve autonomy within the state, however, Damascus opposes the level of autonomy which they seek.
The Syrian regime's defense minister last month said the state would take back the Kurdish led-region by force if its leaders did not submit to the return of state authority, according to Reuters.
Source: Asharq al_Awsat.