Syria rejects Kurdish declaration of a federal region in north

Damascus has rejected a unilateral decision by the Syrian Kurdish Democratic Union Party (PYD) to establish a federal system in the north, saying such a declaration is unconstitutional and has no political value.

“Raising the issue of a federation or that of federalization would affect the territorial integrity of Syria, which goes against the Constitution, the national concepts and international resolutions,” Syria’s official news agency SANA quoted a Foreign Ministry official as saying on Thursday.

Earlier in the day, the PYD officials claimed autonomy in the Kurdish-controlled areas and voted to create a federal system there at a conference in the town of Rmeilan in the northeastern province of Hasakah.

The Syrian official further warned all parties, including the participants in the Rmeilan meeting, against any attempt to “undermine the territorial integrity of Syria and the unity its people.”

“Any declaration to that effect would be without any legal value and void of any legal, political, social or economic effect as long as it does not reflect the will of the entire Syrian people with all their political leanings and social spectra, who are all committed to the national unity and territorial integrity of their country,” the official added.

He further called for an all-out fight against terrorism as the main task facing the Arab nation, stressing that any attempt to distract the country from anti-terror struggles would be viewed as support for foreign-backed Takfiri groups.

SS