WASHINGTON (Sputnik), Leandra Bernstein — Earlier in the day, the Syrian Kurdish Democratic Union Party (PYD) and allied groups announced the creation of a federal region in northern Syria. The Syrian government responded by saying that the Kurds’ unilateral decision had no legal power.
"I think the end result is going to be a unified Syria with a government that represents all the people, including the Kurdish areas," Cardin said.
Cardin, who is the ranking Democrat on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, noted that US officials "certainly understand the frustrations" of Syrian Kurds, adding that "there is a void" in the country, as a result of the sitting government.
The PYD announcement follows months of Syrian Kurds being excluded from the Intra-Syrian peace talks in Geneva.
The Kurdish federal region would encompass three Kurdish-majority areas in Northern Syria near the Turkish border. The decision was made on Thursday at a conference in the city of Rmeilan, in the Hasaka province.
The motion was upheld by all conference participants without consulting the central government, prompting protests in Damascus. Syria's Foreign Minister Walid Muallem has rejected proposals for a federalization and partition of the country.
