Washington (CNN) Sen. Rand Paul wants to give the Kurds their own country.

The Kentucky Republican, who is inching closer to a bid for president, said Tuesday in an interview with Breitbart that he believes the U.S. should not only directly arm Kurdish fighters, but also promise the Kurds "a country." Paul acknowledged that turning the Kurdistan region into a country would be easier said than done, but touted the benefits of his proposal.

"I think they would fight like hell if we promised them a country," Paul said, adding that a Kurdish country would also end the longstanding feud between the Kurds and Turkey.

The Kurds are an ethnic minority who primarily live in a region that spans Iraq, Turkey and Syria and various Kurdish factions have called for -- and sometimes fought for -- an independent, sovereign Kurdistan for more than 100 years.

The rise of ISIS in the region has also bolstered the Kurds' stature on the international stage as Kurdish fighters proved to be the most effective ground force in repelling ISIS's advance as Iraqi government forces collapsed in the north. With air support from the U.S.-led coalition and American weapons funneled through the Iraqi government, the Kurds retook the city of Kobani in Syria, which was nearly entirely under ISIS's control at one point.

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