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Syrian Kurds Plan to Open Official Representative Office in Moscow

Kurdish fighters walk carrying their weapons towards Tel Abyad of Raqqa governorate, Syria.

An official representative office of Syrian Kurdistan — a self-proclaimed autonomous region in northern Syria — might open in Moscow in the near future, the Kommersant newspaper reported Tuesday, citing unidentified sources.

The issue may be discussed Wednesday at a meeting in the Foreign Ministry, the report said. Members of Democratic Union, one of the leading parties of the Syrian Kurds, will meet with Russian Foreign Ministry officials.

While the ministry hasn't yet confirmed the opening of the office, Turkish diplomats told Kommersant that such a step could elicit a harsh reaction from Turkey.

In Turkey, the Labor Party of Kurdistan is officially classified as a terrorist organization, an unidentified Turkish official told Kommersant, and the country would be categorically against the idea of an official Kurdish office opening in Moscow.

The move could further strain relations between Russia and Turkey, already threatened by Russia's involvement in the Syrian conflict, in which Russia and Turkey back opposing sides.

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