Russia: US responsible for fueling separatism among some Syrian Kurds

Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Mikhail Bogdanov said that the United States is responsible for fueling separatist sentiments among some Kurdish population in Syria.

"We believe that some awkward actions of our US partners fueled separatist sentiments among some Kurds," Bogdanov said Tuesday in an interview with Russia's Izvestia newspaper.

The Russian deputy foreign minister noted that Washington created an illusion among the Kurdish people that the Kurds in Northern Syria would be protected by the United States "whatever they do."

As for Ankara, it sparked major concerns about the security of Turkey's Southern borders, he added.

The statement comes amid the Olive Branch Operation, carried by the Turkish Armed Forces against the Kurdish forces in Syria’s Afrin, an area controlled by the US-backed Kurdish People's Protection Units (YPG).

Ankara considers the group to be an affiliate of the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), designated as a terrorist organization in Turkey and certain other countries.

EA