The former president of Syrian National Council, Abdulbasit Sayda, has said the Syrian opposition leaned to cooperation with Kurds, adding, "If the Kurds come back now, the coalition welcomes them."
Attending a three days long meeting of the coalition in Irbil, Sayda told a press conference that they discussed the civil war in Syria, the involvement of the Kurdish groups in the opposition forces and the ways to help people who left their country.
Sayda said the Kurds had great importance for the Syrian opposition and added: "There were many talks held between Syrian National Council (SNC) and Kurdish National Council (KNC). Kurdish groups attended the meetings initially, but they did not continue. If the Kurds come back now, the coalition welcomes them. The coalition is expanded. We should increase the representation of the Kurds in the coalition."
KNC was founded in Irbil, Iraq on October 26, 2011, under the sponsorship of President Massoud Barzani, following the earlier creation of the Syrian National Council.
The organization was originally composed of 11 Syrian Kurdish parties, however by May 2012 this had grown to 15.
The key difference between the KNC and the SNC is over their approach to the issue of decentralization, with the KNC pressing for Kurdish autonomy, whereas the SNC has rejected anything more than administrative decentralization.
