SOCHI (Sputnik) — Turkey is interested in the territorial integrity of the Syrian state, which means that the goals of Ankara and Damascus regarding the issue coincide, Turkey's former Foreign Minister Yasar Yakis said at a session of Valdai Discussion Club in Sochi.
"Turkey's interest now concides with the interest of Bashar Assad in the preservation of the territorial integrity of Syria," Yakis said.
"The Kurds themselves say they want to remain within the Syrian state, but established an autonomy [Rojava]," Yakis pointed out.
Kurds are Syria’s largest ethnic minority. The Kurdish population also lives in Turkey, Iran, and Iraq. In March, they declared a federal region in northern Syria. The Syrian government responded by saying that the Kurds’ unilateral decision had no legal power.
