Russia urges YPG/PKK to leave Turkish-Syrian border

By Elena Teslova

MOSCOW (AA) - Russia urged on Tuesday the YPG/PKK to fulfill its obligations regarding weapons and troops withdrawal from northern Syria.

Speaking at a news conference in Moscow, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov advised the SDF -- another name used by the terrorist organization YPG/PKK -- "to follow their own word" of "full cooperation" and to implement their part of the Oct. 22 Russian-Turkish memorandum on northern Syria.

Lavrov said right after Moscow and Ankara reached an agreement on the settlement in northern Syria, the YPG/PKK agreed to pull out their weapons and troops 30 kilometers (18.6 miles) from the Turkish-Syrian border, but "lost enthusiasm" for cooperation when the U.S. announced their intention to stay in Syria "to protect oil fields".

"When the U.S. changed its position, and said that they had left Syria, forgetting that it was necessary to protect the oil fields, the leadership of the same Kurds immediately lost enthusiasm for cooperation on the implementation of the Sochi agreement and again began to rely on the patronage of the U.S.," the minister said.

Lavrov warned that such a position would bring "no good," and advised the YPG/PKK "to be consistent and not to try to engage in rather questionable activities on an opportunistic basis".

Turkey on Oct. 9 launched Operation Peace Spring to eliminate YPG/PKK terrorists from northern Syria east of the Euphrates River in order to secure Turkey’s borders, aid in the safe return of Syrian refugees, and ensure Syria’s territorial integrity.

On Oct. 22, Turkey reached an agreement with Russia to force YPG/PKK terrorists to withdraw from the planned terror-free zone with their weapons.

The U.S. reliance on the terrorist group in the anti-Daesh/ISIS fight in northern Syria has angered Ankara and strained bilateral relations.

In its more than 30-year terror campaign against Turkey, the PKK -- listed as a terrorist organization by Turkey, the U.S. and EU -- has been responsible for the deaths of over 40,000 people, including women, children and infants.