TABKA, November 8. /TASS/: Russian Aerospace Defense Forces will carry out patrolling missions in Syria's northern provinces daily, pilot Dmitry Ivanov told reporters on Friday.
"We have started fulfilling special tasks on aerial patrolling of northern provinces of the Syrian Arab Republic. Aerial patrolling will be carried out on several routes and will be performed by groups of helicopters in pairs at the altitude of 50-60 meters," Ivanov said.
The main task of patrolling missions is "to ensure security" in the assigned areas and "to accompany the military police," he added.
On Thursday, chief of the Russian Center for reconciliation of the conflicting sides in Syria Yury Borenkov said that "army aircraft have carried out aerial patrol on the following route - the Kwaires airfield, the settlement of Ayn Issa, Raqqa, along the Assad reservoir to the Kwaires airfield,"
On October 22, Russian President Vladimir Putin and his Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan signed a memorandum on joint actions aimed at resolving the crisis in northeastern Syria. In accordance with the document, on October 23, Russian military police and Syrian border guards were deployed to the areas bordering the 30-kilometer safe zone, which Turkey is trying to set up.
On October 29, Russian Defense Minister Sergey Shoigu said that the Kurds had completed the withdrawal of their armed units from that safe zone. On November 1, Russian and Turkish military servicemen carried out the first joint patrol of the area east of the Euphrates river.
