US confirms direct engagement with Syrian-Kurdish group

WASHINGTON, By Michael Hernandez (aa)
The U.S. has engaged in direct conversations with the Kurdish party whose fighters are currently struggling to beat back ISIL militants in a Syrian border town, according to the State Department on Thursday.
The Kurdish populated border town of Kobani, which is under the control of the armed wing of the PYD, has been the scene of fierce battles between Kurdish groups and ISIL/ISIS since mid-September.

The People's Protection Units, or YPG is the armed wing of the PYD. Turkey considers the group to be an offshoot of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party, or PKK, militant group that has waged a three-decade long bloody insurgency in Turkey. The U.S. and EU have listed the PKK as a terrorist organization. 

State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki said that a U.S. official met with the PYD outside the region during the weekend.
“This was just one conversation over the weekend. So it doesn’t represent coordination. It represents one conversation,” Psaki told reporters. Nonetheless, the U.S. will continue to engage with the group, but Psaki said that she currently doesn't have any predictions “on the frequency” of the meetings...............http://www.aa.com.tr/en/rss/405755--us-confirms-direct-engagement-with-syrian-kurdish-group
17/10/14
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Related:

• US officials have held direct talks for the first time with a Kurdish political party in Syria linked to Turkey’s PKK, seen by the US and others as a terrorist organisation, the US State Department said Thursday....

• Kerry: Saving Kobane not part of strategy