MOSCOW (Sputnik) — The launch of the federalization processes in Syria could unite Syrian residents rather divide them, co-chair of Syria's Kurdish Democratic Union Party (PYD) Saleh Muslim said Thursday.
"Federalization is an event that is connected with Syria's future, not with its break-up. The launch of this idea may unite us, rather than divide," Muslim told a press conference in Moscow.
He added that the ideal future of the Syrian state required the consent of all sides and nationalities.
Later in March, Syrian President Bashar Assad told Sputnik in an exclusive interview that the Syrian people would not support the Syrian Kurds’ decision to create a federal region in the country's north.
"We are the only side that has its own plan. We believe that all nationalities [in our country] should participate in the talks and we don't have any preconditions to join the talks. We don't seek power change, but the decentralization of the country," Muslim said.
He added that the PYD believes that all delegates to the Geneva peace talks must be Syrian nationals to ensure the sides could cover all issues without someone dictating decisions from the outside.
"We are against any outside interference," Muslim added.
The Kurds are a Middle Eastern ethnic group numbering some 30-35 million and living mainly in Turkey, Iran, Iraq and Syria. The PYD, the main Syrian Kurdish party, has not been invited to the negotiations in Geneva.
A new round of proximity talks between the Syrian government and opposition delegations began in Geneva last week. On Monday, the opposition High Negotiations Committee (HNC) walked out of the talks, citing ceasefire violations by government troops as the reason for the move.
