Receiving al-Hariri in Kurdistan a diplomatic mistake: Syrian Kurdish politician
QAMISHLI, Syria (North Press) – On Thursday, a Syrian Kurdish politician said that the warm welcome for the Syrian National Coalition (SNC) delegation in Erbil was one a “diplomatic mistake” and that the Kurdistan Region of Iraq (KRG) gave “the delegation more importance than it deserves.”
Early in March, the SNC, headed by SNC president Nasr al-Hariri, who is the president of Turkish-backed Syrian National Coalition, made an official three-day visit to the KRG, meeting with prominent officials in KRG including Masoud Barzani, head of the Kurdistan Democratic Party, and KRG Prime Minister Masrour Barzani.
“The visit took place at a sensitive and pivotal time, as the Kurdish movement in Syria is witnessing historic challenges, the most prominent of which is the intra-Kurdish talks,” member of the political committee of the Kurdish Democratic Union Party in Syria Hussein Bader pointed out.
In an interview with North Press, Bader expressed his understanding and respect for the diplomatic and political rules and the KRG’s right to establish its relations, “however, they exaggerated in receiving the delegation and we were outraged over the form and hospitality of the reception.”
Following the visit, on his official account al-Hariri tweeted that he was well received politically and by press media during his visit to KRG.
“Those concerned in the KRG should have received al-Hariri through people of the 15th or 16th degree in KRG’s institutions, as this is equal to the rank of Hariri and his coalition,” the Kurdish politician said.
Al-Hariri visited the KRG’s parliament, where he allegedly described the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) as “terrorists,” raising resentment among people of northeast Syria.
The Kurdish official expressed his fear that the reception of al-Hariri by a well-known Kurdish figure such as Barzani would be seen as “a medal of honor and a certificate of good behavior, exonerating him of the crimes he commits.”
“Nasr al-Hariri is a paid political stooge for the AKP government in Turkey, and his reception by Kurdish figures was a diplomatic mistake on the part of the KRG,” he said.
Before his visit to Erbil, al-Hariri paid a visit to the city of Afrin and released photos of him from inside Afrin accompanying opposition groups’ officials who are accused of war crimes, including the so-called ‘Abu Amsha,’ the leader of the Suleiman Shah Brigades who is accused of a litany of war crimes in Turkish-occupied Afrin.
Afrin is located near the Syrian-Turkish border and Turkey and the Turkish-backed armed opposition groups have seized it since March of 2018 following a military aggression.
In September, a report by the Independent International Commission of Inquiry in Syria stated that Syrian opposition groups have committed war crimes and looted heritage sites in Afrin.
“This visit outraged the Kurds, especially since the SNC included representatives of Kurdish National Council (ENKS) in the delegation,” Bader told North Press.
Earlier in his posts on social media al-Hariri described ENKS representatives as his “employees.”