by WorldTribune Staff, May 24, 2016
Syria’s Kurds have opened a representative office in Paris, following similar openings in Moscow, Berlin and Stockholm.
The Kurds, who in March unilaterally proclaimed the creation of the Rojava federal region in northern Syria, opened the new office in central Paris on May 23.
“Our priority is to defeat terrorism and create stability in Syria,” said Sinam Mohamed, a Rojava representative.
The Damascus government and the Syrian opposition do not recognize the Rojava region and it is not officially recognized by the French Foreign Ministry which views the Syrian National Council as the “legitimate” representative of the Syrian people.
The United States has said it will not recognize any autonomous regions the Syrian Kurds set up under their planned federation but has pledged to continue to work closely with the Kurds in the fight against Islamic State of Iraq and Levant (ISIL).
Russia has built an alliance with the Kurds after a fallout with Turkey over the downing of a Russian warplane last November, pushing for the inclusion of the Syrian Kurds in UN peace talks.
Kurds account for about 15 percent of Syria’s population.