US’ actions in Syria may aggravate Kurdish problem in entire region — Lavrov

Shafaq News / The United States’ support for separatist tendencies in northeastern Syria may make the Kurdish problem topical not only for Syria but for other countries of the region, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said on Tuesday after talks with visiting Archbishop Paul Richard Gallagher, Secretary for Relations with States within the Holy See's Secretariat of State.

"Kurds should feel themselves part of Syrian society. We maintain close contacts with Kurdish representatives and are ready to do our best so that their legal interests are taken into account when forming new political frames in the context of the Constitutional Committee’s activities," he said.

"I would recommend the Kurds not be lured by our American colleagues who are seeking to nourish separatist tendencies in eastern Syria and make these plans a serious irritator targeted against the interests of preserving Syria’s integrity. These are dangerous games that may lead to a situation when the Kurdish problem blazes up in the entire region, bearing in mind that it concerns not only Syria but other countries as well," he said.

According to the Russian top diplomat, Russia will insist on the implementation of United Nations Security Council Resolution 2254 by all countries. "It concerns those whose military presence in Syria is illegal. It is about the necessity to respect this country’s sovereignty and territorial integrity by all, the necessity to drop illegal unilateral sanctions the West keeps on imposing on Syria, especially amid the pandemic. It is about the West’s stopping ignoring the need to create conditions for the return of refugees to Syria," Lavrov explained.

Gallagher, in turn, stressed the importance of the United Nations-brokered consultations on the Syrian constitution in Geneva and expressed the hope that the sides will cooperate with each other to ensure a successful outcome of the talks that will make it possible to find a political solution to the conflict.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said after his meeting with US President Joe Biden on the sidelines of the Group of Twenty summit in Rome that he hoped the United States would finally stop helping Kurdish organizations in Syria as these organizations are recognized as terrorist in Turkey. Meanwhile, the Asharq al-Awsat Arabic-language newspaper reported that the Turkish army with support from Syrian armed opposition units was about to launch an offensive on the positions of Kurdish units in four areas in northern Syria. Commenting on Turkey’s statements, Pentagon Press Secretary John Kirby said on November 3 that the United States would not change its position concerning cooperation with the Syrian Democratic Forces, an alliance of Kurdish and Arab units, in northeastern Syria. According to Kirby, his country’s mission is focused solely on the threat coming from Islamic State (a terrorist organization outlawed in Russia).

(Tass)