Syrian Kurds See Federalism as Good Option for the Country's Ethnic Groups

Possible future Kurdistan federalisation is aimed at defending the interests of all ethnic groups in the country.

MOSCOW (Sputnik) — Syrian Kurds do not seek to create autonomy exclusively for themselves, as the announced federal system would defend the interests of all ethnic groups in the country, Rodi Osman, the head of the Syrian Kurds representative office in Moscow, said Monday.

"I would like to note that we do not aim to create an autonomy for the Kurds only. We aim to create a regime that will be able to ensure the rights of all constituent parts, of all peoples, ethnic and religious groups," Osman said at a press conference in Moscow.

On Thursday, Syrian Kurds announced the creation of a federal region in the country's north — the so-called Federal Democratic System of Rojava and Northern Syria. The Syrian government responded by saying that the Kurds’ unilateral decision had no legal power.

Kurdish representatives maintained that the new entity would remain part of Syria as a federal unit. The federal region is said to be composed of Kurdish, Arab, Turkmen and other ethnic groups populating the region.

Earlier in March, Osman told Sputnik that Syrian Kurds planned to finalize the federalization project as soon as possible and present it to the United Nations.

Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Mikhail Bogdanov stressed that federalization should take place within a "sustainable and inclusive political process within the intra-Syrian dialogue," rather than being a unilateral decision.