Turkey's promises to disrupt talks if Kurds appear in Geneva are inadmissible — Russian envoy

Turkish representatives' promises to disrupt the Syria peace talks if a Kurdish delegation appears in the Swiss capital is inadmissible, Russia's Permanent Representative to the UN Office and other International Organization in Geneva Alexey Borodavkin told TASS on Saturday.

"We demand the Kurds be represented at the talks," Borodavkin said. "We go on saying to both UN officials and U.S. colleagues that Turkey is blackmailing when puts forward the conditions that if Syrian Kurds appear at the talks, the Turkish representatives will disrupt them. It is totally unacceptable and absolutely inadmissible."

• "According to our observations, the understanding that Syrian Kurds should be present at the talks and take part in the political process is an absolutely essential point," Borodavkin said.

According to UN statistics, fighting between Syrian government troops and militants has killed over 250,000 people and displaced millions since its start in 2011. Gangs of militants making part of various armed formations, the most active of them being the Islamic State and Jabhat al-Nusra terrorist organizations, fight government troops.

On February 22, Russian President Vladimir Putin and U.S. President Barack Obama adopted a joint statement on the cessation of hostilities in Syria on February 27, obliging both sides to influence different political forces in the country to achieve a ceasefire.

The ceasefire has been effective in Syria since February 27. It does not apply to the groups Islamic State and Jabhat al-Nusra [both outlawed in Russia], and also to other groups declared as terrorist by the UN Security Council.
[tass.ru]
13/3/16
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