Moscow hopes that the Kurds will voluntarily and “without bloodshed” pull out from regions near the Syrian-Turkish border, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Vershinin was quoted as saying on Wednesday.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said earlier that if Kurdish forces fail to pull out and withdraw their weapons, then Syrian border guards and Russian military police officers will have to pull back. “In fact, the remaining Kurdish units will be crushed by the Turkish military machine,” TASS quoted the spokesman as saying.
Vershinin also said that the fate of the Kurdish people should be determined during their talks with Damascus and the agreements should be detailed in the new Syrian constitution.
Moscow has been in contact with the US about its Syrian deal with Turkey.