The co-leader of the Democratic Union Party (PYD), Salih Muslim told Hurriyet daily news that the Syrian Kurdish party can play the role of a mediator between Ankara government and the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) peace settlement that plans to end Kurdish conflict in the state. The fight against the Islamic State (IS) is unifying not only Baghdad and Erbil, but also the Kurds in Iraq and Syria, thereby creating a completely new Kurdish reality in the region.

Muslim told the daily’s reporter that he was in Turkey was Oct. 4, when he met with high-level officials from the Foreign Ministry. “We tried hard for the SNC (Syrian National Coalition), but Turkey will only allow us to join after we have given up on everything that makes us exist, only after we give up our identity. This is because Turkey doesn’t recognize the Kurdish reality in Syria,” Muslim answered the question why his party does not join SNC. Muslim says the resistance in Kobani has revealed the fact that it is not possible anymore to distinguish Rojava (Syria Kurdistan) from the southeast of Turkey. Then could the PYD play a constructive role in the peace process of Turkey? “We have said this to Ankara so many times,” he says. “Once Turkey accepts our existence and our identity, we are up to anything. We could serve in all capacities. We don’t want to be enemies with Turkey.”

Asked if there had been any contact then between the PYD and the Turkish government over recent street protests in southeastern Turkey where dozens were killed , Muslim replied: “No, there has not. I wish there had been and we could have helped so that those citizens did not lose their lives. Those people are also our people … There is so much we can accomplish together once Turkey recognizes us.”

“Yes, we said that. We gave the U.S. the guarantee that those arms would not be used against Turkey or fall into the PKK’s hands,” Muslim said about Turkey’s concerns that arms supplied to Kobani might fall into the hands of the PKK and that he has promised the U.S. that those arms will not be transferred to the PKK.

“They are very good and will be much better,” he stated about the PYD’s relations with the U.S.

Have the Peshmerga made any difference in Kobani’s resistance? “Of course,” he says. Both President Erdogan and Fuad Hussein argued that it was Turkey who suggested the transit of the Peshmerga. Muslim confirms that: “There was intense pressure from the Kurds. And if Ankara had not let them through, this would have looked as if it was objecting [Massoud] Barzani.”

Muslim also argues they are not against the Peshmerga and Kurds’ cooperation. “There might have been some sensitivities beforehand, but IS has pushed Kurds into unifying. And this is something good” he says.

Muslim said about his relations with Barzani that Barzani is a “very valuable” person and a great value for the Kurdish people, underlining that he does not want to interfere in Syria’s internal dynamics. According to Muslim, the Duhok Agreement that sets aside the long-standing differences between Barzani and Muslim over the governance of Rojava, will be implemented very soon. “It is impossible to separate the Kurds once they unify,” he says.

“There is no reason at all why the relations shouldn’t improve. Once Turkey takes a step and recognizes us, we would do anything. All we want is that it doesn’t stand in our way,” he said about how to fix the PYD’s relations with Turkey. “All I want to say is: Don’t waste our words of brotherhood and friendship. We genuinely want Turkey to affect the developments in a positive way,” Muslim ultimately said. http://kurdpress.com/En/NSite/FullStory/News/?Id=9072#Title=%0A%09%09%09%09%09%09%09%09PYD%20can%20mediate%20between%20PKK%20and%20Ankara:%20Salih%20Muslim%0A%09%09%09%09%09%09%09