Russia denies reports of building military base with Syrian Kurds

Russia has vehemently dismissed a Reuters report which claims it is constructing a military base in the Afrin district of Syria’s Aleppo Province in alliance with the Kurdish militia controlling the area.

“There are no plans to establish new Russian bases on the territory of the Syrian Arab Republic,” a statement by the Russian Defense Ministry said Monday.

Moscow, however, said it will use a facility in northeastern Syria to observe the implementation of a previously-agreed ceasefire and negotiate local truces between various warring factions there.

“In accordance with the Russian-Turkish agreement signed on December 30, 2016, the Russian Center of Reconciliation carries out round-the-clock ceasefire monitoring. To prevent the violation of the ceasefire, one of the branches of the center has been set up near Afrin, in a spot bordering the territory held by the Kurdish militias, and that under the command of the Turkish-controlled Free Syrian Army,” the statement noted.

On Monday, Reuters cited a spokesman for Kurdish People's Protection Units (YPG) as saying that Russia had signed an agreement with the YPG to set up a military base in Afrin.

“An agreement was signed between our units and Russian forces operating in Syria that will train us in modern military tactics,” YPG spokesman Redur Xelil.

“This is the first agreement of its kind, although we have had previous cooperation [with the Russians] in Aleppo city,” he added.

He said the agreement was part "of the framework of the fight against terrorism," adding that it was signed on Sunday and came into effect on Monday.

Xelil noted that Russian troops were already present at the training camp in the Afrin region, one of the three "autonomous" cantons which is under the control of Kurdish authorities.

SS