‘President Barzani’s influence in Syria positive’

WASHINGTON, United States (Kurdistan24) – In a recent interview, Kurdistan24 sat with Omar Hossino, who shared his thoughts about the President of the Kurdistan Region, conflict in Syria, and the role of the United States in arming Peshmerga.

Hossino, the Director of Outreach for Syrian American Council (SAC), discussed the way President Masoud Barzani has “strengthened” the unification of Kurdish parties in Syrian Kurdistan (Rojava).

“Since 2011, President Barzani has been standing against the dictatorial Assad regime in Syria, and since very early on, supported Kurdish opposition movements and groups,” Hossino said.

The SAC member touched upon the role of the US in Syria and labeled it as a “confused policy” because there is not enough distinction between the Kurdish groups in the region.

Hossino added that the US has created “wrong assumptions” about specific groups in Syria that concerns all Kurds in the region.

He also addressed the issue of federalism in Syria and offered his support for the idea.

“By pushing a federal system for Syria, you can gain the Kurds, especially those Kurds aligned with Barzani and the Kurdish National Council to be part of the equation,” Hossino said.

“It will be a stabilizing factor for Syria, and it can marginalize terrorist groups…I think it will be the most democratic option for Syria,” he added.

Hossino spoke about the importance of directly arming Peshmerga in the Kurdistan Region instead of going through Baghdad.

“We need to arm Peshmerga directly,” he said. “In Baghdad, we have a corrupt central government that is increasingly being aligned with sectarian militias tied to Iran.”

Editing by Karzan Sulaivany

(Kurdistan24 team in Washington conducted the interview)