Syria
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov gives an annual press conference on Russian diplomacy in 2021, in Moscow on January 14, 2022. Photo: Dimitar Dilkoff/AFP
ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - Russia’s foreign minister on Friday said that the negotiating committees in northern Syria (Rojava) “do not represent all the Kurdish components,” describing the Kurdish capital’s role in Iraq as “unique,” and calling for an arrangement similar to Erbil-Baghdad relations to be established in Syria.
“The Kurds who are a part of Syria’s constitution-writing committee, don’t represent all the Kurds in Syria,” Sergey Lavrov told Rudaw’s Kamiz Shadadi in a press conference.
Russia is a key backer of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. Turkey and its proxies control stretches to northern Syria, including parts of the provinces of Aleppo and Idlib, as well as areas around Sari Kani (Ras al-Ain) and Gire Spi (Tel Abyad) in the northeast, that Turkey seized from Kurdish forces in a 2019 offensive. Ceasefires were brokered by Moscow and Washington, but are frequently violated.
Speaking of Iraq and the Kurdistan Region, most notably Erbil, Lavrov said, “The experience of Iraqi Kurds should be passed to Syria.”
The Russian official noted that he has previously visited Erbil and Baghdad, meeting with Iraqi and Kurdish officials.
“Some parties [sides] want to make Syria and Iraq their field of conflict,” he said, emphasizing that Russia wants Iraqis to live in peace, as “it will be the infrastructure of our economic and political relations.”
Lavrov also commented on the ties America and the Kurds share, in both the Region and Rojava.
The Americans “will never find good solutions for Kurds,” he said, noting that when America withdrew from Syria, “Kurds asked Russia to help them.”
“The Kurds who are a part of Syria’s constitution-writing committee, don’t represent all the Kurds in Syria,” Sergey Lavrov told Rudaw’s Kamiz Shadadi in a press conference.
Russia is a key backer of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. Turkey and its proxies control stretches to northern Syria, including parts of the provinces of Aleppo and Idlib, as well as areas around Sari Kani (Ras al-Ain) and Gire Spi (Tel Abyad) in the northeast, that Turkey seized from Kurdish forces in a 2019 offensive. Ceasefires were brokered by Moscow and Washington, but are frequently violated.
Speaking of Iraq and the Kurdistan Region, most notably Erbil, Lavrov said, “The experience of Iraqi Kurds should be passed to Syria.”
The Russian official noted that he has previously visited Erbil and Baghdad, meeting with Iraqi and Kurdish officials.
“Some parties [sides] want to make Syria and Iraq their field of conflict,” he said, emphasizing that Russia wants Iraqis to live in peace, as “it will be the infrastructure of our economic and political relations.”
Lavrov also commented on the ties America and the Kurds share, in both the Region and Rojava.
The Americans “will never find good solutions for Kurds,” he said, noting that when America withdrew from Syria, “Kurds asked Russia to help them.”
Comments
Rudaw moderates all comments submitted on our website. We welcome comments which are relevant to the article and encourage further discussion about the issues that matter to you. We also welcome constructive criticism about Rudaw.
To be approved for publication, however, your comments must meet our community guidelines.
We will not tolerate the following: profanity, threats, personal attacks, vulgarity, abuse (such as sexism, racism, homophobia or xenophobia), or commercial or personal promotion.
Comments that do not meet our guidelines will be rejected. Comments are not edited – they are either approved or rejected.
Post a comment