Syria: Russia To Train Kurdish Forces Under New Agreement, YGP Spokesman Says

Russia and the Kurdish People's Protection Units (YPG), a powerful Syrian Kurdish militia, have reached an agreement over training and a Russian military base in northwestern Syria, a YPG spokesman said March 20, Reuters reported. The deal was concluded March 19, and Russian troops have already arrived in the northwestern Afrin canton, according to the spokesman. Russia has yet to officially comment on the deal. The YPG, already backed by the United States, forms a key part of the Syrian Democratic Forces, an important force in the fight against the Islamic State.