Syrian Kurdish faction meets with Russia’s deputy foreign minister in Moscow

Wladimir van Wilgenburg 2021/10/30 15:58

A KNC delegation meets with Russian Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Mikhail Bogdanov, Oct. 29, 2021. (Photo: KNC)

ERBIL (Kurdistan 24) – A delegation from the Kurdistan National Council (KNC) on Friday met with Russian Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Mikhail Bogdanov in Moscow to discuss the ongoing and deadly Syrian crisis.

The dignitaries discussed the ever-changing political situation in Syria and the latest developments in the work of the Syrian Constitutional Committee, as well as UN Resolution 2254.

In the resolution, the UN recommends “confidence-building procedures” between various sides in Syria’s confusing, decade-long conflict, such as the release of prisoners held by multiple forces across the nation.

Reportedly, Bogdanov stressed during the meeting the crucial need to implement international resolutions on Syria and continue efforts for a political solution.

He also underlined the need for the rights of Kurds and other ethnic or religious groups to be respected in a comprehensive solution, stressing that Kurdish unity was the best, if often elusive, hope to secure these rights.

Russian Ambassador to Iraq Elbrus Kutrashev told Kurdistan 24 on Wednesday on the sidelines of MERI Forum 2021 in Erbil that Russia hopes for the Syrian Kurds and Damascus to reach a deal.

Talks between the Syrian government and the Kurdish-led self-administration have failed in the past, despite repeated Russian mediation.

At the MERI Forum, Kutrashev also said that Russia had no issue with autonomy in Syria or in other countries, remarking instead that “Russia is a federal state and we have absolutely no problem with other countries becoming federal or having autonomy or something of this kind.”

He also underlined that all Syrian factions should be included in the political process, including the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), a rival to the KNC. However, he added, this has been consistently blocked by Turkey.

“We believe – and we very strongly believe – that all Syrian sides involved should participate in the process.”

In September, the President of the Executive Committee of the Syrian Democratic Council (SDC), Ilham Ahmed, also met with Bogdanov in Moscow.

Additionally, delegations from both the KNC, which is part of the Turkish-backed Syrian opposition, and the Democratic Union Party (PYD)-linked Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria (AANES) were both in the US in late September to lobby for their respective causes.

The two parties previously held talks for several months in an initiative supported by the US and SDF since 2020 to resolve their disputes. However, since the November 2020 US presidential elections, the talks have been suspended despite US calls on both sides to resume the negotiations.