Syria government rejects Iraqi Kurdish independence vote
Damascus labels nonbinding referendum, opposed by virtually every country in the region, as ‘unacceptable’
DAMASCUS, Syria — Syria’s Foreign Minister Walid Muallem has rejected a controversial independence referendum by Iraq’s Kurds being held on Monday as “unacceptable,” saying Damascus only recognized a unified Iraq.
Iraqi Kurds are voting Monday in a nonbinding referendum on independence that has been opposed by virtually every country in the region, as well their international allies including Washington.
Syrian state news agency SANA quoted Muallem as saying on Sunday that Damascus “does not recognize anything but a unified Iraq.”
“We reject any action that leads to the fragmentation of Iraq,” he said.
“This step is unacceptable and we do not recognize it,” he added, saying he had discussed his government’s position with Iraq’s foreign minister.
The Syrian Al-Watan newspaper, which is close to the government, also quoted foreign ministry official Ayman Soussan criticizing the vote on Monday.
“This is the result of American policies that seek to break apart the countries of the region and create conflicts between their parts,” adding that the referendum “harms Iraq and the Kurdish brothers.”
Syria has its own Kurdish minority, who made up around 15 percent of the country’s population before the country’s civil war erupted in 2011.
Syria’s Kurds have largely stayed out of the conflict that erupted with anti-government protests, instead building semi-autonomous rule in majority-Kurdish regions.
Last week, they held the first round of local elections in areas under their control, a move seen as a step toward consolidating the federal model they advocate for Syria.
Damascus has dismissed the Syrian Kurdish elections as “a joke.”
