ANKARA, Nov 2 (NNN-ANADOLU) – Turkish and Russian troops launched their first joint patrol in northeastern Syria, as reconnaissance of the withdrawal of Kurdish fighters from the region, as part of a deal that halted a Turkish offensive in the area.
“First Turkish-Russian joint patrols with the ground and air units are underway, east of Ad Darbasiyah in northeastern Syria, as agreed between Turkish and Russian presidents in Sochi on Oct 22,” the Turkish Defence Ministry said in a statement.
The patrols are part of a memorandum between Ankara and Moscow to remove fighters of the Kurdish People’s Protection Units (YPG) 30 km from the Turkish border.
The U.S. reached a deal with Turkey on Oct 17, imposing a five-day cease-fire to allow the Kurdish forces to pull back from the planned “safe zone” that Turkey wants to create in northern Syria to ensure its border security.
On Oct 22, Turkish President, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, and his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin, held a meeting in Sochi, Russia, agreeing on the pullout of the YPG fighters to 30 km south of Turkey’s border, within 150 hours and the launch of joint patrols between Turkish and Russian soldiers, 10 km from the Turkish border, in an agreed region that excludes the city of Qamishli.
