DAMASCUS, Sept. 25 (Xinhua) -- Syria's Assistant Foreign Minister Ayman Soussan has said that the independence vote of the Iraqi Kurdistan region is "null and void," local media reported Monday.
Soussan has made the remarks to the online al-Watan daily, during which he dismissed the independence vote in Iraq's Kurdistan region, saying such a move is "the result of the U.S. policies that aim to fragment the region and create conflicts among the components of the society."
"We are with the unity and sovereignty of Iraq and no party can claim the right to fragment this country or that one," he was cited by al-Watan as saying.
The voting in Iraq "harms Iraq and the Kurds as well."
He said the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces are capitalizing on the voting in Iraq and the U.S. support to attempt to draw a similar scenario in northern Syria.
"The Kurds are part of the national fabric of the countries where they exist," he said, hoping that the "Kurds would realize this truth and don't accept to be the Trojan horse for others' policies."
The Iraqi Kurds started casting their ballots on Monday in a controversial independence referendum amid heightening tension with Baghdad and international opposition as well.
