Information
Equipo Nizkor
        Bookshop | Donate
Derechos | Equipo Nizkor       

26Sep17

Syria supports Iraq's unity, rejects any fragmentation attempt

Syria's Foreign Minister Walid al-Moallem said Monday that his country supports Iraq's unity, and rejects any attempt to fragment that country, including the independence vote of Iraq's Kurdistan.

"What is happening in Iraq's Kurdistan and northern Syria is the result of the Turkish support to the terrorist groups," al-Moallem told pan-Arab al-Mayadeen TV in an interview Monday.

He said when the Turkish plan in northern Syria failed, the Kurdish issue rose clearly.

Al-Moallem referred to the Turkish support, during the six-year war, to the rebels in northern Syria and the chaos that ensued has pushed the Kurds to capitalize on the situation to attempt to have a rule of an autonomous region.

Earlier in the day, pro-government al-Watan daily cited Syria's Assistant Foreign Minister Ayman Soussan as saying that the independence vote of the Iraqi Kurdistan region is "null and void."

Soussan has dismissed the independence vote in Iraq's Kurdistan region, saying such a move is "the result of the U.S. policies that aim to fragment the region and create conflicts among the components of the society."

"We are with the unity and sovereignty of Iraq and no party can claim the right to fragment this country or that one," he was cited by al-Watan as saying.

The voting in Iraq "harms Iraq and the Kurds as well."

He said the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces are capitalizing on the voting in Iraq and the U.S. support to attempt to draw a similar scenario in northern Syria.

"The Kurds are part of the national fabric of the countries where they exist," he said, hoping that the "Kurds would realize this truth and don't accept to be the Trojan horse for others' policies."

The Iraqi Kurds started casting their ballots on Monday in a controversial independence referendum amid heightening tension with Baghdad and international opposition as well.

[Source: Xinhua, Damascus, 26Sep17]
Bookshop Donate Radio Nizkor

War in Afghanistan & Iraq
small logoThis document has been published on 27Sep17 by the Equipo Nizkor and Derechos Human Rights. In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107, this material is distributed without profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information for research and educational purposes.