Turkey and Russia have agreed on joint military patrols in northern Syria. This was announced by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan today in Ankara. According to the Turkish president, the patrols will start on Friday and initially cover a strip of seven kilometers. Moscow had previously informed Ankara of the withdrawal of Kurdish militia YPG from the „security zone“ called by Turkey.
According to the Russian military, the Kurds withdrew a total of 34,000 people, 3,000 weapons and military equipment from a 30-kilometer-wide zone on the border with Turkey. After the withdrawal, Syrian troops established more than 80 checkpoints in the region. Erdogan had threatened a new Turkish offensive if the Kurdish militia did not withdraw completely.
