Qamishli: Russian forces in Syria headed for the border with Turkey Wednesday to ensure Kurdish fighters pull back after a deal between Moscow and Ankara wrested control of the Kurds' entire heartland.
Kurdish forces, who previously controlled nearly a third of Syria, have lost almost everything after Turkey secured the right to remain fully deployed in an Arab-majority area that was the main target of a two-week-old offensive.
The agreement Tuesday in Sochi also requires Kurdish militia to pull back to a line 30 kilometres from the border along its entire length (440 kilometres), forcing them to relinquish control of some of their main towns.
Meanwhile, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan vowed that Turkey would take "the necessary steps" if Russian and American promises to push Kurdish fighters in Syria away from the Turkish border were not kept, in comments published Wednesday.
