Russia: US Continues to Supply Kurds with Arms, Provoking Turkey

Russian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova commented on the developments in Syria, including the issue of arms supplies to Kurds from the US.

"The Americans have sent the Kurds convoys with weapons through the territory of Iraq, provoking Turkey. Turkey, in turn, has continued its military activity against Kurds in the Afrin area in Northwestern Syria as part of the Operation Olive Branch," Zakharova said at a briefing on Thursday, noting that the ongoing battles between Turkish troops and Kurds were fierce, RIA Novosti reported.

Meanwhile, in Lebanon, US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, who is expected to head to Ankara, addressed the issue after meeting with Lebanese President Michel Aoun, stressing that the US has "never given heavy arms to the YPG (the People's Protection Units)", a Kurdish militant group that Ankara has deemed to be a terrorist organization.
 (FNA)
 15/2/18