World Bulletin/News Desk

Western countries have begun to change their attitude towards the Syrian Kurdish Democratic Union Party, or the PYD, which they previously termed as ''terrorists,’’ party leader Salih Muslim said Tuesday.

Addressing a conference at the European Parliament in Brussels, Muslim said the change in attitude comes in the backdrop of the battle for Syrian town of Kobani that remains under a relentless attack by the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant, or the ISIL terror group.

On October 31, the first group of Iraqi Peshmerga forces entered Kobani through the border crossing with Turkey, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.

Muslim said his party ''is no longer seen as a terrorist organization’’ and that ''everyone is aware that the party is defending European values.''

He said his party met “face to face” with the U.S. and the U.K. representatives.

He added he expected meetings with representatives of other countries in the future as well and wanted more cooperation with them, especially regarding the future of territories under his party’s control.

Muslim said Western countries’ change in policy was not enough and that the party wanted to be addressed directly. He urged the EU to arm his party with heavy weapons for its fight against the ISIL.

The Syrian party PYD was established by Kurdish activists in 2003 and is an affiliate of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party, also known as the PKK.