MOSCOW (Sputnik) – Assad added that Damascus maintains dialogue with the Kurds and supports them in their anti-Daesh efforts.
"We cannot speak only with one part of the Kurds, not taking into account all the local Kurds, as well as all Armenians, Chechens, Turks, Arabs. Most of Kurds are not asking for autonomy, only some of them," Assad told Russia's Komsomolskaya Pravda daily, stressing that a nation-wide referendum is needed "that will says ‘yes’ or ‘no’ [to Kurdish autonomy]."
There are numerous opposition groups and terrorist organizations active in Syria, where a civil war has been ongoing since 2011. Some of the terrorist organizations, such as Daesh and Jabhat Fatah al Sham (al-Nusra) are banned in Russia and a range of other countries.
Kurds are Syria’s, Iraq’s and Turkey’s largest ethnic minority. A Kurdish population also lives in Iran. The ethnic group is striving to create their own independent state.
"We are holding talks," Assad said, "We have supported them in the war against ISIS [IS]. We have sent them weapons."
