Syrian Kurds open Moscow office, amid Kremlin push

MOSCOW — Syrian Kurdish separatists on Wednesday opened a representation in Moscow amid a push by the Kremlin to have them included in Syria peace talks despite Turkey's objections. 

"This is a historical moment for the Kurdish people," Merab Shamoyev, chairman of the International Union of Kurdish Public Associations, said at the ceremony in an industrial neighbourhood in southeast Moscow.

"Russia is a great power and an important actor in the Middle East. It is in fact not only an actor, but it also writes the script." 

The opening of the representation — which Shamoyev said was a "big political step" for Syrian Kurds — came as global powers meet in Munich on Thursday in a bid to revive Syria peace talks.

The opening of the office in Moscow is also bound to fuel tensions in Russia's relations with Turkey, which broke down in November after Ankara shot down a Russian warplane on the Syrian border. 

Those present at the ceremony have ties to the Kurdish Democratic Union Party (PYD), said Shamoyev.

The PYD is a leader in the fight against the Daesh terror group in northern Syria, but Turkey considers it to be an offshoot of its arch-foe the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK).

The PYD was not invited to the Syria peace talks which collapsed in Geneva last week amid accusations from the West and the Syrian opposition that Russia's bombing campaign was targeting civilians. 

The talks, aimed at ending a nearly five-year war that has killed more than 260,000 people, were suspended until February 25.

Moscow, a long-time supporter of Syrian President Bashar Assad, has said no negotiations could yield results without the Kurds but Ankara considers their presence unacceptable, given their desire for independence.

Russia's foreign ministry has appeared to distance itself from the opening of the Syrian Kurdish office, saying Kurdish interests will be represented by diplomats from Syria and Iraq.