US envoy meets with Kurdish opposition to discuss border closure
ERBIL (Kurdistan 24) – The US Deputy Special Envoy to Syria Matthew Pearl met with a delegation of the presidency of the Kurdish National Council (KNC) and discussed the closure of the Faysh Khabur border crossing and recent violations by the Democratic Union Party (PYD).
A delegation of the KNC presidency, including Muhammad Ismail, Faisal Yusuf, Suleiman Oso, and Fasla Yusuf, met with Pearl on Monday, the KNC said in a statement.
The KNC stressed the importance of relations with the US and its importance for the region's stability.
The KNC also referred to the violations by armed groups affiliated with the PYD-led authorities in northeast Syria that led to the Faysh Khabur border crossing closure. The economic situation in northeast Syria deteriorated further due to that closure.
A Kurdish Future Movement Party member in Syria was recently abducted by an unknown group in al-Darbasiyah (Dirbêsiyê in Kurdish) in the country's northeastern Hasakah province.
Since the beginning of the Syrian crisis in 2011, KNC members have been kidnapped, intimidated, and assassinated in unclear circumstances.
Moreover, KNC offices have been targeted and even burned.
On Dec. 17, protesters torched the KNC office in the Syrian Kurdish town of al-Darbasiyah (Dirbêsiyê) when KNC members were celebrating Kurdistan Flag Day.
Commander-in-Chief of the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) Mazloum Abdi strongly condemned "illegal saboteurs" for their assault on the building.
Two days later, a number of Kurdistan Region border guards were injured after protestors assaulted the Faysh Khabur border crossing. In response, the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) closed the crossing.
Last Thursday, temporary Syrian residents in the Kurdistan Region were allowed to return to Syria through Faysh Khabur.
The KNC said that the US is committed to reopening the border for economic and humanitarian relations "without any further interference or obstruction."
Last week, Ambassador Pearl met with officials of the Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria (AANES) and discussed reopening the Semalka (Faysh Khabur) border crossing, North Press reported.
He reportedly noted the negative repercussions of the crossing's closure on the economy and the humanitarian situation in northeast Syria.