Kurds' role in Syria talks essential - Russia's ambassador to EU
BRUSSELS. Jan 27 (Interfax) - Kurds are essential, both to the upcoming talks on Syria and the Syrian peace process as a whole, Russia's Permanent Representative to the European Union Vladimir Chizhov told Russian journalists in Brussels on Wednesday.
"If we are talking about the task of preserving Syria and Iraq as unified states, then it would be impossible without the Kurds. This is why both the Russian Federation and - I will add, by the way - the United States, too, have consistently called for their participation," the Russian diplomat said.
"There are other countries, members of the Syria Support Group, I would single out one that is categorically against it," Chizhov said, without naming the country.
"I think the reasons lie in their own national agenda, which they prefer not to share with others," said the head of the Russian diplomatic mission to the EU.
Responding to questions at a conference entitled 'Russia's role in the Middle East', Chizhov reiterated the Russian position that "Kurdish organizations must be represented at the forthcoming talks in Geneva."
He added: "We don't supply weapons directly, as some countries do, to Kurdish fighters in Syria or in Iraq. Whatever Russian weapons they are getting, they get from the Iraqi central government."