Change in the Kurdistan Region's Strategy Towards Syria and the Likelihood of Confrontation with Turkey

Masoud Barzani, the President of the Kurdistan Region of Iraq, officially supported the formation of a federal system in Syria in a statement on Thursday, March 4. The news outlets Al-Monitor and Rudaw, close to the Kurdistan Democratic Party of Iraq, reported that Barzani stated he supports the idea of a federal Syria 'for stability in Syria and participation among the people of the Kurdistan region.' The possibility of establishing a federal system in Syria has recently been raised among some local groups and several Western officials. Sergey Ryabkov, the Deputy Foreign Minister of Russia, said last Monday that Moscow supports any option, including federalism, to achieve peace in Syria. Groups such as the Kurdistan Democratic Party of Iraq also referred to the federal system as the best option for Syria this week. Syrian Kurds, who have controlled areas in the north and east of the country for the past three years, have sought to distance themselves from the civil war in Syria. Hossein Qouimi asked Haman Sidi, a researcher on Kurdish issues in London, for his assessment of the federal system and the support of the Kurdistan Region of Iraq for this system in Syria.