MOSCOW (Sputnik) — It is impossible to envisage the future structure of Syrian state and solve its current issues without the Syrian Kurds who are an important military and political force, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Gennady Gatilov said Friday.
"The Kurds are a serious political force, and also a serious military force and it is impossible to speak of the future structure of the Syrian state and resolving all the issues that the Syrian people are facing now without their participation in the intra-Syria dialogue," Gatilov told reporters.
While the Kurds are the largest ethnic minority in Syria, none of their representatives have been invited to the Geneva proximity talks. The International Syria Support Group (ISSG) that Russia and the US co-chair is scheduled to take place next Thursday, May 19, in Vienna.
"We are constantly raising this issue and of course during the upcoming meeting in Vienna we shall confirm this position. It is well known, we tell this to all of our partners and believe that the Kurdish participation is extremely necessary in the dialogue process," the official said.
In January, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said the intra-Syrian reconciliation talks would fail to reach a political settlement unless the Syrian Kurds were allowed to participate in the process.
