Russia Reports More Syrian Kurds Withdraw From Safe Zone

Russian Deputy FM hopes remaining Kurdish fighters leave voluntarily

Russia is reporting that more Kurdish SDF fighters have successfully withdrawn out of the Syrian safe zone, the 32 km area along the Turkish border. They say the SDF reported the pullouts, and Russia can confirm, but they did not publicly say how many.

Russia’s Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Vershinin issued a statement on Wednesday saying it is the hope of the Russian government that the Kurdish SDF will all leave the safe zone voluntarily. Russia has expressed confidence that a 150 hour deal will be plenty of time.

Russian officials also said that it is their expectation that once the SDF withdraws from the safe zone and matters are settled, efforts will be made to integrate them into the Syrian Army.

That’s something Turkey is almost certain to object to, because in the past they have made clear they would not allow the Kurdish “terrorists” to become part of the Syrian government.

Author: Jason Ditz

Jason Ditz is Senior Editor for Antiwar.com. He has 20 years of experience in foreign policy research and his work has appeared in The American Conservative, Responsible Statecraft, Forbes, Toronto Star, Minneapolis Star-Tribune, Providence Journal, Washington Times, and the Detroit Free Press.