US support for separatist tendencies in northeastern Syria could lead to the Kurdish problem affecting not only Syria, but also countries in the region, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said at a press conference on Tuesday following talks with the Holy See's secretary for relations with states, Paul Richard Gallagher.
"Kurds should feel part of Syrian society. We are in close contact with Kurdish representatives, ready to help ensure that their legitimate interests are fully taken into account in the ongoing work of shaping a new political framework in the context of the constitutional committee," he said.
"I would advise the Kurds not to succumb to the flirtations that our American colleagues continue in dealing with them, which are leading the cause of fueling separatist tendencies in eastern Syria and trying to make these their plans a serious irritant that targets the interests of maintaining a unified Syrian state. "Overall, these are dangerous games that can lead to a very serious flaming of the Kurdish problem in the entire region, given that its dimension covers not only Syria but also other countries," Lavrov added.
Lavrov stressed that Russia will insist that all countries comply with the provisions of UN Security Council Resolution 2254. "This also applies to those who are illegally present with their military units on the territory of the Syrian Arab Republic. It concerns the need for all to respect the sovereignty and territorial integrity of this country, and the need to urgently stop, especially in a pandemic situation, the illegal unilateral sanctions that the West constantly imposes on the SAR. It concerns the need for the West to stop sabotaging the demands to create conditions for the return of refugees to the Syrian Arab Republic," Lavrov explained.
Gallagher, for his part, noted the importance of the talks on the Syrian constitution, which are taking place in Geneva under the auspices of the UN. "We hope that all parties will cooperate with each other so that these negotiations can be concluded successfully and a political solution to this conflict can be found that would allow many refugees to return to Syria and other countries in the Middle East," he said. Gallagher stressed that the fate of all refugees and migrants from the Middle East, regardless of their religious beliefs, is important. In Syria and elsewhere, the Church seeks to strengthen social institutions, including hospitals. In Syria, the Catholic Church has an Open Hospitals Project, he recalled.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, after meeting with US leader Joe Biden on the sidelines of the G20 Summit in Rome, expressed confidence that the US would stop helping the Kurdish terrorist organizations in Syria, which are banned on Turkish territory, as they have been doing until now. Meanwhile, the pan-Arab newspaper Asharq al-Awsat reported that the Turkish army, supported by formations of the Syrian armed opposition, was preparing to launch an attack on Kurdish positions in four areas in northern Syria. On November 3, Pentagon spokesman John Kirby, commenting on the statements of Turkey that the United States should stop its assistance to Syria, as well as on a possible military operation of Ankara in the region, stated that the US did not change its position regarding the cooperation with the Syrian Democratic Forces in the north-east of the country, the core of which are the Kurdish People's Protection Units. The US mission in Syria, he said, was focused exclusively on the threat posed by the Islamic State (a terrorist group banned in the Russian Federation).
GSV "Russia - Islamic World"
Photo: Creative Commons
Based on materials from TASS