Support from Kurds contributed to positive changes at Turkish-Syrian border - Putin
NALCHIK. Nov 29 (Interfax) - The Kurds have made their contribution to the positive changes achieved at the border between Turkey and Syria, Russian President Vladimir Putin said.
"What is happening in Syria now, at least the positive developments that have been achieved at the border between Turkey and Syria, is being done with support from the Kurds and in their interests. The people understand this and treat us warmly and lovingly there," Putin said at a meeting of the Presidential Council for Interethnic Relations on Friday.
The Kurdish population shows a heartfelt attitude toward the military police patrolling the Turkish-Syrian border, "because the people see and understand that the Russian army has come to protect them. This is an obvious fact," he said.
Farkhat Patiyev, the chairman of the council of the federal Kurdish ethnic and cultural diaspora in Russia, told Putin at the meeting that some experts appearing in analytical TV shows often insult ethnic minorities, including Kurds.
Putin replied that those experts have no relation to the government. "They don't express the standpoint of the TV channel, not to mention that of the official Russian authorities," Putin said.
"I'd like to stress that we have always had historically very warm and good relations with the Kurdish people," he said.
"I don't know who spoke that blatant nonsense on that TV channel. I think the people should have enough common sense to understand that this has nothing to do with the position of the Russian official authorities," he said.