The Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Gennady Gatilov stressed the importance of the inclusion of Kurds in the UN-led intra-Syrian peace talks in Geneva.
This comes after the UN’s special envoy to Syria Staffan de Mistura said that he aims to start the next round of intra-Syrian talks before the end of August.
On July 26-27, Geneva hosted Russia-US-UN consultations on Syria. Russia was represented by Deputy Foreign Minister Gennady Gatilov who suggested Kurds should be included in the talks.
“The Russian spokesman said the Government of the Syrian Arab Republic has already agreed to take part in the talks and emphasised the importance of an inclusive delegation from the Syrian opposition, which should include Kurdish representatives as well as all other opponents of official Damascus that take a constructive approach and seek a comprehensive political settlement of the Syrian crisis,” the Russian foreign ministry said in a press release.
Gatilov emphasised the need to launch a dialogue among Syrians as soon as possible without any preconditions.
In turn, Staffan de Mistura suggested late August as a tentative time for convening the next round of talks.
Speaking to ARA News, the Kurdish defence head of the Cezire canton, Rezan Gullo, said that the Syrian Kurds have relations with both Russia and the United States.
“We have relations with both Russia and the US in our fight against ISIS [Islamic State group] and Nusra [al-Qaeda branch in Syria],” the Kurdish official said.
aranews.net
