Syrian Official to Kurds: Rejoin Government Side and Fight Occupation Together

Syria's deputy foreign minister has called on the country's Kurds to rejoin the government side after apparently being abandoned by their U.S. allies as northeastern Syria braces for an imminent Turkish attack on Syrian Kurdish militias there.

Faisal Mekdad urges the Syrian Kurds to return to the government rather than "plunge into the abyss" — a reference to the expected Turkish incursion.

His comments were published in the pro-government daily Al-Watan on Tuesday, the first Syrian reaction since President Donald Trump's abrupt decision to stand aside along Syria's northeastern border with Turkey.