Kurds get no Syria talks invitation, leave Geneva: Sources

Syrian Kurdish figures left the Swiss city of Geneva late Friday after not receiving invitations to attend the UN-backed negotiations that are hoped to end the deadly militancy in the Arab country.

Saleh Muslim, head of the Syrian Kurdish Democratic Union Party (PYD), as well as his advisors left Geneva, an unnamed member of his party's team in Switzerland told AFP on Saturday.

The PYD chief had gone to Geneva last week with the hope of winning a seat at the talks.

"Yes, we left Geneva because we did not get invitations," the member said, adding that Kurdish forces would not commit to “any decision that comes out of Geneva, including a ceasefire agreement.”

Besides PYD, Ilham Ahmad, the Kurdish co-head of an Arab-Kurdish joint council in Syria also left Geneva on Friday over not being invited to the meeting.

Kurdish groups like the PYD and its military wing, the People's Protection Units (YPG), have been very successful in confronting the Daesh terror group. They insist that their participation could greatly contribute to the success of any political solution to the crisis in Syria.

Russia has also called for the inclusion of Kurdish groups in the peace talks and argued that the meeting would not be successful if Kurdish representatives are not invited.

However, the so-called Syrian opposition body the High Negotiations Committee (HNC), which is backed by Saudi Arabia, as well as Turkey have been against their attendance in the negotiations.

Ankara accuses the PYD and YPG of links to the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) that has been fighting for an autonomous Kurdish region inside Turkey since the 1980s.

Foreign-backed opposition in Geneva

In a separate development, a 17-strong delegation from the so-called main opposition group, including the head of the HNC, flew to Geneva in a bid to assess whether to join the talks, according to foreign-backed opposition representative Riyad Naasan Agha.

The HNC wants to discuss issues including a stop to Russian and Syrian government airstrikes before engaging in the peace talks that started on Friday.

"We want to show the world our seriousness in moving towards negotiations to find a political solution," Agha claimed.

This is while Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Gennady Gatilov has reportedly said that no direct talks are expected in Syria, only proxy talks.

He also added that there are no preconditions for the talks. Moscow has already expressed its opposition to the make-up of the foreign-backed opposition as it says it includes terrorist groups.

The conflict in Syria has killed more than 260,000 people and forced millions from their homes since its onset in 2011.

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