Kurdish issue in Syria cannot be neglected: Lavrov

Duvar English

Kurdish issue in Syria cannot be neglected, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov has said, adding that it is a "much broader issue than just in the dimension of the Syrian crisis."

"The Kurds are living in Iraq and in Iran, and certainly, a huge number of the Kurds are living in Turkey. Nobody wants this region to 'explode' over tensions around the Kurdish issue, and no one wants the Kurds to feel like they are secondary citizens," TASS quoted Lavrov as telling Rossiya-24 TV channel on Nov. 1.

Saying that the Kurdish issue in Syria must not exacerbate tensions in the region, Russia’s top diplomat noted that Russia has created conditions, which will make it possible to "agree on the Kurds’ fate in Syria calmly rather than in pauses between combat actions."

Lavrov's remarks came amid Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's comments on restoring state authority over areas controlled by the Syrian Kurdish People's Protection Units (YPG).

In an interview on Oct. 31, Assad said that the Kurds would not be asked to immediately hand over their weapons when the Syrian army enters their areas in a final deal with them that brings back state control to the large swathe of territory they now control.

A day earlier, the Syrian government called on the Kurdish groups to join the official military. But the YPG-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) turned down the proposal.