The United States has abandoned Kurdish units in northern Syria “almost forcing them to fight against the Turks”, Russian Presidential Spokesman Dmitry Peskov said commenting on the recent remarks by US Special Representative for Syria Engagement James Jeffrey. After Moscow and Ankara reached an agreement on settling the crsis in northeastern Syria, Jeffrey voiced doubts that the Kurds would withdraw from the designated areas.

“The United States was the closest ally of the Kurds over the past few years. But in the end, the US abandoned the Kurds, actually betraying them. The US opted to abandon the Kurds on the border, almost forcing them to fight against the Turks,” Peskov said.

The presidential spokesman warned that it is absolutely clear that if Kurdish units fail to pull out and withdraw their weapons, “then Syrian border guards and Russian military police officers will have to pull back” leaving the Kurds to be dealt with by the Turkish army.

“In fact, the remaining Kurdish units will be crushed by the Turkish military machine,” Peskov emphasized.

Oil sites in northeastern Syria, the site of a battle that began earlier this month, should be controlled by Damascus, Russia’s Foreign Ministry stated on Wednesday.

On October 23, Russia and Turkey reached an agreement to settle the ongoing conflict in northeastern Syria. Under the deal, the Turkish military operation will continue in a limited area only, and Syrian and Russian troops will deploy along the rest of the border. The deal says that YPG units have to withdraw its troops and weapons from a 30km-deep area.