Russia Hopes Kurds to Join Syria Peace Talks Despite Turkish, Saudi Stance

Russia hopes the issue of Kurds taking part in Syrian peace talks will be solved in the upcoming days, despite Turkey's and Saudi Arabia's stance, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Mikhail Bogdanov said Tuesday.

MOSCOW (Sputnik) — Ankara views Kurdish self-defense forces in northern Syria and Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) separatists in southeastern Turkey as terrorist organizations. It actively opposes any Syrian Kurds' participation in political settlement talks.

"This issue has yet to be solved. We expect that [UN envoy for Syria Staffan] de Mistura will tell us about this today. Because Turkey is against it and our Saudi partners followed their lead," Bogdanov told RIA Novosti.

"We hope that this matter will become clear in the upcoming days and Kurdish representatives will be included in the talks," he added.

The deputy minister noted that the talks, set to resume on March 7, must be "as inclusive as possible," in accordance with UN Security Council resolution 2254. "This includes opposition groups that met not only in Riyadh, but also in Moscow, in Cairo, in Astana — as well as the Kurds," he said.