Iraqi Kurdish government snubs Syrian Kurdish group
Iraq's Kurdistan Regional Government refused to receive an official delegation of a Kurdish group that has claimed autonomy in northern Syria.
AMSTERDAM — On Feb. 3, Salih Gedo, the unofficial foreign minister of the new Kurdish administration in Syria, announced a diplomatic mission to open relations between the Kurdish administration in Syria with Iraq's Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG), Iran and Turkey. But the KRG refused to meet the new minister and rejected the recently announced Kurdish administration in Syria.
KRG spokesman Safin Dizayee told Rudaw that the KRG wouldn’t meet any official of the Kurdish administrations in northern Syria — which were announced by the Democratic Union Party (PYD) and its allies — since it does not recognize them.
Previously, KRG Foreign Minister Falah Mustafa had told Rudaw, “Regarding the Rojava cantons, the KRG has decided to support a decision made by all the Kurdish groups and parties, and it won't deal with any unilateral decision.” He added that the KRG deals with the issue as Europe does.
It is also likely that Turkey will not receive the administration’s foreign minister since the country has opposed the PYD’s autonomy declarations before. Furthermore, in November 2013, KRG President Massoud Barzani condemned the PYD's autonomy declaration.
