The Syrian Kurdish National Council (KNC) has opened its office in Geneva to contribute to Syria peace talks and convey the council’s political activities to the outside world, said the group. The office was officially inaugurated by Kurdish politician and head of KNC Ibrahim Biro on Friday. “Establishing an office in Geneva for the Kurdish National Council (KNC) is an essential step especially in the present days with the world at the ready for the next round of peace talks within the framework of international efforts to achieve peace in Syria,” said the KNC in a statement. The KNC said that through its presence in Geneva it hopes to contribute to “peace and to build up Syria as a federal state which will offer stability and democracy for all people living in Syria.” A number of foreign diplomats attended the opening ceremony of the KNC office among them Andreas Krüger, head of the Middle East division of the German Foreign Office, Berk Baran, deputy permanent representative of Turkey’s mission to the United Nations in Geneva, Abdulhadi Saeed Al-Gahtani, first secretary at Saudi Arabia’s mission, Maxim Efimov of the Russian mission and the UN special envoy for Syria Staffan de Mistura. KNC President Biro said in a speech that one of the aims of the new office was “strengthening the role of the Kurdish delegation to the High Negotiations Committee during the next round of Geneva talks, in developing relations between the KNC and the diplomatic missions as well as in emphasizing the vision of KNC in the Western media.”
