The relationship between the PYD and the Syrian regime and its allies, determinants and fate

The relationship between the PYD and the Syrian regime and its allies, determinants and fate


Over the past ten years, the Democratic Union Party (PYD) worked on building a military force and independent autonomy in northeastern Syria, taking advantage of ideological and political factors, like loosening the security grip of the Syrian regime forces in large areas of the country, after the start of the popular protests in 2011.

Moreover, the PYD adopted a special policy that serves its own goals. Such goals have not been in harmony with the demands of the Syrian people and the Kurdish street as early as the beginning of the Syrian revolution. The Party sees that it does not matter if it coordinates with the regime and takes advantage of the issue of "fighting terrorism" to have it as a pretext, through which it was able to divert attention from its own radical views.

This study examines the nature and fate of the relationship between the Democratic Union Party and the Syrian regime and its allies, based on the historical contexts, which show the support of both the regime and the former Soviet Union to the Kurdistan Workers’ Party, of which the “Democratic Union” is an extension. 

Then, it carefully looks at the determinants of the relationship between the two sides after 2011. In addition, the study takes a close look to the role that Iran played in establishing understanding agreements between the two sides, the foundations on which they were based, and the regime’s allies investing in the Party’s role in regional conflicts.

The importance of this study comes from the topic and its problem, given the Party's behavior in Syria; especially it receives support from the United States of America, and coordinates on the ground in many geographical areas with the Russian forces and the Syrian regime, except for the negotiations it repeatedly engages with the latter.

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