According to the minister, the Kurdish issue involves a wide array of Middle Eastern countries
The Kurdish problem may explode, unless the issue of Syrian territorial integrity is solved, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said Monday.
“It is always a blatant violation of international law to play with territorial integrity of any country. In this specific case, it is not about Syria alone, but also about the Kurdish issue that may explode in a way that will make the current situation appear, well, far less serious,” he said.
According to the Minister, the Kurdish issue involves a wide array of Middle Eastern countries.
“Invitation to separatism – and not just an invitation, but active promotion of separatism – may end very badly. Once again, this is done by a country from far beyond the ocean, while the consequences will be dealt with by the countries of the region, as well as Europe – and we [Russia] is not too far away ourselves” Lavrov underscored.
He also reminded that Russia proposed an initiative to develop a security concept in the Persian Gulf region, involving all Arab nations, Iran, the Arab League, the Organization of Islamic Cooperation, the UN Security Council permanent members and the European Union.
“I hope that the time has come when too many problems have accumulated both in the Persian Gulf, and around it, including the Middle East and the Northern Africa in general. It is unavoidably necessary to sit down and negotiate,” he said.
The Kurdish forces in northeastern Syria enjoy the support of the US, which Lavrov has pointed out repeatedly. Even after the bulk of the US forces were withdrawn from Syria, they continued to control a portion of oil fields in the country. In September, US senator Lindsey Graham announced that a US company signed a direct agreement with the Kurds.