Russian official: Moscow in contact with Syrian Kurds, opposition

ERBIL, Kurdistan Region — Russia maintains daily contact with Syrian opposition forces and the Kurds, Mikhail Bogdanov, Russia’s deputy foreign minister, was quoted as saying on Thursday.

According to Reuters, Bogdanov said Russia held meetings with representatives of the opposition Free Syrian Army (FSA) and was also in contact with the Kurds.

Russia has met representatives from the Syrian opposition in Moscow, Paris and Istanbul, Bogdanov was quoted as saying.

The Russian official’s statement came as an answer to a question as to whether envoys of the FSA visited Russia last week.

During his speech at the 70th session of UN General Assembly, Russian President Vladimir Putin said only Kurds and forces loyal to Syrian President Bashar al-Assad are “truly fighting the Islamic State.”

The Kurdish Peoples’ Defense Units (YPG), the organized Syrian Kurdish forces, control Rojava, the term used by Kurds to describe Syrian Kurdistan. The YPG is seen as the military branch of the Democratic Union Party (PYD) led by Syrian Kurdish leader Salih Moslem.