Syrian issue cannot be resolved without Kurds’ participation in negotiation process - Lavrov

MOSCOW, January 26. /TASS/. It is impossible to reach a political settlement of the Syrian crisis without the full-fledged participation of Syrian Kurds in the negotiation process, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov told the 2015 review news conference on Tuesday. "The range of people invited (to take part in the inter-Syrian talks) must be inclusive, as envisaged by a UN resolution, and represent the widest possible array of opposition groups," he said. ""We have been recently hearing doubts of a separate, I would say, one member of the International Syria Support Group on whether Syrian Kurds, specifically, the Democratic Union Party should be invited. I proceed from the premise that without this party, without this participant the talks cannot bear the fruit we seek, that is, the final political settlement in Syria. Russia’s top diplomat recalled that "Syrian Kurds made up about 15 percent of the population and occupied a significant area, a key one at that." According to him, the fact that the Kurds are allegedly not fighting against Bashar al-Assad cannot be used as a pretext to exclude them from the negotiation process. "The talks must ultimately focus on the ceasefire, determination, raising the efficiency of the fight against terrorism and political reforms in Syria," he went on to say. "How can one talk about political reforms - and those who promote such fairly one-sided agenda in the Syrian settlement bring to the fore not the fight against terrorism but political reforms - how can one talk about political reforms in Syria ignoring the leading Kurdish party, a powerful force, which, by the way, is actively countering on the ground terrorism of ISIS banned in Russia (former name of the Islamic State terrorist group). "Therefore, failure to invite this group will be a fundamental mistake, but we will not impose any veto," Lavrov said. ""This is the right of (UN Syria envoy) Staffan de Mistura. He should be aware of his responsibility and should not shelter himself behind Russia and the United States. And, of course, he should not take the lead from those who, unlike us, are trying to bring the veto tool to the International Syria Support Group. We hope that the UN Secretary-General, together with Staffan de Mistura, will realize in full measure their responsibility and understand that attempts to play into the hands of, as far as I understand, the only member of the International Syria Support Group who decided to leave the Kurds outside the negotiation process are inadmissible." Speaking about the assistance to Iraqi Kurds in combating terrorism, Lavrov drew attention to the fact that Russia, since the emergence of a terrorist threat, has taken the Kurdish aspect into consideration. "We supplied weapons to Iraq realizing that both the government troops and the Kurdish militiaare fighting against ISIS," he said. "We took into account the needs of the Kurds in the supplies of our weapons to Iraq, but these deliveries were carried out through the central government, through Baghdad. We fully respect Iraq’s sovereignty and territorial integrity." Read more