The Syrian army entered the northern city of Manbij for the first time in six years on Friday, after the Kurds, left exposed by a US pledge to pull out its own troops, asked for the regime's help to face a threatened Turkish offensive.
A Syrian army spokesman said the national flag was raised in Manbij, a key city which lies about 30 kilometers south of the Turkish border.
The People's Protection Units (YPG), which Turkey regards as a terrorist group and has vowed to crush, said its fighters had previously withdrawn from Manbij to fight ISIS militants in eastern Syria.
"So we invite the Syrian government which we belong to... to send its armed forces to take over these positions and protect Manbij in the face of Turkish threats," the YPG statement said.
It followed a shock announcement by its US ally last week of a full troop withdrawal from Syria.
Russia welcomed the return of Kurdish territories in Syria to the control of the regime of Bashar Assad.
"This is a positive trend," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told a conference call.
But Ilham Ahmed, a senior Syrian Kurdish official, said Syrian regime troops have arrived at the front lines of Manbij but have not taken over the city, and US troops based outside it have not withdrawn.
Ahmed said an agreement was being worked out with the Russians and the regime that in case of a full US pullout government troops would take over.
"The aim is to ward off a Turkish offensive," Ahmed said. "If the Turks' excuse is the (Kurdish militia), so they leave their posts to the government."
Reacting to the latest developments in Manbij, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said Ankara will have nothing left to do in the Syrian town once "terrorist organisations" leave the area.
