Russia accuses US of abandoning Kurdish forces in Syria

Russia on Wednesday accused the United States of abandoning Kurdish forces and leaving them to face the Turkey military offensive in northern Syria.

"The US has been the closest ally to the Kurds. And yet they abandoned them, essentially betraying them and now they prefer to keep the Kurds at the border and virtually force them to fight the Turks", said Dmitry Peskov, Press Secretary of the Russian President Vladimir Putin, as quoted by the Sputnik.

On Tuesday, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Putin agreed to jointly push back Kurdish fighters from a 'safe zone' along the Turkey-Syria border, after marathon talks in Sochi.

The talks came hours before a five-day ceasefire between Turkish troops and Kurdish fighters in northern Syria was set to expire. The meeting centered on the security situation in northern Syria following the launch of Turkey's cross-border operation aimed at driving the Kurdish People's Protection Units (YPG) from the border areas.

Meanwhile, US Senator Mitch McConnell and other top Republican lawmakers on Tuesday (local time) introduced a resolution opposing US President Donald Trump's decision to withdraw troops from Ankara, warning that his decision has benefited Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, the Islamic State, Russia, and Iran.

On Sunday, Kurdish fighters belonging to the YPG fully withdrew from the besieged Syrian border town of Ras al-Ain in the first pullback under a ceasefire deal with Turkey brokered by Washington.

Turkey launched its military operation on October 9 after the US announced the withdrawal of its troops from northern Syria.