WASHINGTON (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 24th October, 2019) The deal between Russia and Turkey on security in northeast Syria puts the Kurds there in a dangerous situation, Syrian Democratic Council (SDC) Co-President Ilham Akhmed said.
"Turkish and Russian patrols [from one side] and the [Syrian] regime [from another] - it is a very dangerous situation for us," Akhmed said in a congressional hearing on the United States' policy in Syria on Wednesday.
Akhmed noted that the Russian-Turkish deal imposes on the SDF to withdraw from the border area of up to 20 kilometers
"This area is left to Turkey," she said, adding that the Syrian government also poses a threat for the Kurds.
On October 9, Turkey launched Operation Peace Spring in northeast Syria to clear the area of Kurdish and Islamic State terror group (banned in Russia) fighters. The United States and Turkey on October 17 reached an agreement on a 120-hour ceasefire in the area to allow for the withdrawal of the Kurdish fighters.
As the five-day ceasefire ended, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Russian President Vladimir Putin reached a deal late on Tuesday to pull the Kurdish fighters back and establish joint patrols in the safe zone in northeast Syria along the Turkish border.
Earlier on Wednesday, the Russian Defense Ministry said that Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) Commander-in-Chief Mazloum Abdi thanked Moscow and President Vladimir Putin for ensuring the Kurds' safety and taking steps to stop the fighting amid the Turkish offensive in northeast Syria.
