WASHINGTON (Sputnik) — On Monday, Russian President Vladimir Putin said the country’s armed forces had fulfilled their mission in Syria and their withdrawal would start the following day.
"The Kurds are going to miss Russians," Xulam said on Monday. "The latter mercilessly pounded groups like al Nusra and Ahrar al-Sham that viewed Kurds as infidels."
However, Xulam said he viewed the Russian decision to withdraw its forces from the conflict as a positive step as it would prevent Syrian President Bashar Assad from amassing too much power that he could eventually use against the Kurds too.
"The Kurds didn't want Bashar Assad to have supremacy over all other groups [in Syria]. What they wanted was to have a balance of power."
Xulam said Kurdish groups still hoped for a lasting compromise peace agreement to end the five year civil war in Syria on terms that would ensure the freedom and security of all.
"No group would dominate the politics of Syria. All groups would have a say in it, but all would also be strong enough to withstand the encroachments of their neighbors."
However, even if such an agreement and final settlement was possible, it still had to be negotiated and implemented, Xulam cautioned.
"It is too early to tell if that is going to be the outcome of Russia's decision to stop its air operation in Syria."
