"The Syrian constitution should fix that the country is federal republic, otherwise the Kurds would be forced to declare independence," Merab Shamoev said.
Shamoev added that the idea of federal Syria had nothing in common with separatism, but instead was an attempt to keep the country together. He stressed that the Kurds had the right of self-determination.
"This is not separatism, the Kurds want their rights and the rights of other peoples – Christians, Assyrians, Armenians, Arabs, Turkmens, to be respected, so that they have the right for their own culture." Shamoev said.
The announcement came against the backdrop of a new round of Syrian peace talks in Geneva and strong opposition among all stakeholders to the division and the breakdown of Syrian territorial integrity.
So far, the federalization was rejected by Damascus as unlawful.
