SULAYMANIYAH – The Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov after the trilateral meeting on Syria of the foreign ministers of Turkey, Iran and Russia on Sunday said that heads of state will decide on the participation of the Syrian Kurds in peace talks in the Russian resort of Sochi next week.

“The final decision on Kurdish participation will be made by political leaders,” Lavrov said.

As a result, most likely the Kurdish Democratic Union Party (PYD) will be excluded from the talks due to opposition from Turkey and Iran, although Russia wants the Syrian Kurds to participate.

Both Iran and Turkey are against any form of federalism in northern Syria.

“Both Russia and Turkey are interested in a political solution of the Syrian civil war. Russia insists that any political solution is impossible without the participation of the Kurds. So, Moscow is trying to reconcile Kurdish ambitions, whose rise Turkish foreign policy is directly responsible for, without alienating Ankara,” Timur Akhmetov, a Russian analyst on the Middle East told The Region.

The Russian President Vladimir Putin earlier proposed the idea of creating the Syrian Congress of National Dialogue in Sochi. But Akhmetov believes that a significant obstacle for the dialogue is Turkey's reservations about the PYD. Turkey's refusal to compromise has left Moscow "Irritated" according to Akhmetov.

“As we know, Kurdish advances have been correlating with the Syrian central government’s demise that was pursued by the Turkish government. PYD’s military strength was further reinforced by U.S. assistance, - once again as a result of a deficient Turkish foreign policy,” he said.

Russia, Akhmetov insists, also wants to court the PYD forces for its own national interests, considering the fact that the U.S plans to stay in Syria for an undefined period of time.

“Russia may want to court the Kurds by advocating its political interests to ensure that its alliance with U.S. doesn’t evolve into a political one,” Akhmetov believes.

In a press conference marking the handover of the families of Russian IS fighters back to Moscow, Aleppo-born Russian senator Ziyad Sabsabi and a Russian General said that Russia will stay neutral if any conflicts arise between the US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) and the Syrian government. Instead, Russia will try to play the role of mediator.

“The Russian Federation has always understood the aspirations of the Kurdish people to gain their rights in the areas in which they live, we will continue to follow this path,” Sabsabi said.

Although the PYD was excluded so far from peace talks in Geneva, Astana, the Barzani-backed Kurdish National Council (KNC) participated in talks in the past as part of the Turkish-backed Syrian opposition. However, its also unclear if the KNC will be invited to Sochi.

Nevertheless, the KNC is reportedly invited to the second round of Saudi sponsored talks in Riyadh in talks set for 22-24 November.