New and interesting details from Abdulrazaq Koyee, PUK's representative in Damascus in an interview with a local PUK outlet regarding how PKK rebuilt relations with the Assad regime after the Syrian uprising and Assad withdrawal from Kurdish areas was preplanned with PKK. More:

According to Koyee, who openly says he himself and PUK have good relations with Assad says: when I visited Cemil Bayik in 2012 he said they want to rebuild relations with Assad. He says a PKK representative with name code (Dalil) met with Assad regime's Ali Mamlouk in 2012.

According to Koyee: as the protests were spreading across Syria, Assad told PKK - after several meetings - that they will give them weapons and withdraw so that they can guard the region. He claims Bayik in return said: "we owe the regime and we want to defend Syria".

Apparently, PUK's relations are also still strong with Assad. Koyee says during the events of Shingal in 2014, a group of PUK fighters were trapped and Assad regime helped them with weapons and logistics to cross to Syria and from there, back to Iraq.

According to Koyee, KDP also have good relations with Assad.

According to him, a KDP representative in Syria told Assad's Ali Mamlouk: "all non-PKK Syrian Kurdish parties are owned by us, if you want, we will put them all in a plane and throw them away".

Abdulrazaq Koyee, who has been living in Damascus since the 80s, says he last met Ocalan a month before he leaves Syria in his villa in Darayya near Damascus. "It was the first time Ocalan criticise the regime" Koyee said. "Ocalan said the regime cannot be trusted".

PUK which was found in 1975 in Damascus was also supported by Hafez Assad's regime. Koyee says, he gave us weapons and supported us. He also says their relations with Damascus was stronger during Hefez, compared to now.

This is the flat where Jalal Talabani used to live in Damascus in the mid and late 1970s. If I am not mistaken, this is also where Qubad Talabani was born in 1977.

I must add: no Syrian Kurdish party wanted to be part of the mostly Sunni Arab protests and all of them saw the uprising as an opportunity to further their gains.

Here KDP-S's AbdulHakim Bashar told Syrian activists: "find something other than Kurds to ignite your protests":

Wow! Assad & Iran first in 2011 reached an agreement with Iraq Kurds: "Ali Mamlouk, Qassem Soleimani, Masoud Barzani and a PUK leader met in Erbil and agreed for 5000 Peshmarga to be sent to Qamishli" but Turkey stand against the plan and threatened Barzani against any such move.

To conclude: Assad regime sought a deal with the PKK re Syrian Kurdistan after the deal with Iraqi Kurds failed following Turkish pressure.

Ali Mamlouk was the regime's key representative in the negotiations, PKK was Sabri OK, PUK was Abdulrazaq Koyee, KDP was Mahmud Gargari.