The January 22 Geneva II peace talks won’t be taking place in Geneva: due to a scheduling conflict with a luxury watch fair it’s been moved to Montreux. It’s still happening though, and current indications are that there will be no Kurds.
The Kurdish factions, which control the whole northeast of the country, are seeking an invite, but so far they haven’t managed to secure a seat at the table, and they are concerned the future of Syria will be decided without them.
At present the invites have gone out around the world, with Syria’s government and over 30 others invited to be involved, including every single member of the P5+1. There will be little to no rebel presence, with the mostly irrelevant Syrian National Coalition (SNC) the only group committed to attend despite a lot of petitioning.
It is odd then, that at a time when the US and Russia are desperately getting anyone they can to attend the talks, the Kurds remain willing and unasked. With Turkey expected to play a significant role in the talks, their long-standing opposition to Kurdish independence may be playing a part here.
