ANKARA, Nov 9 (NNN-ANADOLU) – Turkish and Russian troops, on Friday, began their third joint patrol in northern Syria, between the cities of Qamishli and Derik, under a deal that stipulates the withdrawal of Syrian Kurdish militia away from Turkey’s border.
“Within the framework of the agreement, reached with Russia in Sochi on Oct 22, the third joint land patrol began, with the participation of Turkish and Russian military elements and UAV’s, in the region between Qamishli and Derik, in the east of the Euphrates,” said a Turkish defence ministry statement.
The joint patrols aim to monitor the withdrawal of the Syrian Kurdish fighters and to ensure security. The second joint patrol was carried out in the east of Ayn al-Arab and west of Tal Abyad districts, while the first one was in the east of Ad Darbasiyah.
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.
On Oct 9, Turkey launched a military incursion, code-named Operation Peace Spring, into northern Syria, in a bid to drive Kurdish fighters out of the border region, following the pullout of U.S. troops.
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 and the launch of joint patrols between Turkish and Russian soldiers, 10 km from the Turkish border, in a region that excludes the city of Qamishli.– NNN-ANADOLU