YPG to withdraw to beyond 30 km into Syria: Turkey's Erdoğan

Holding a joint press conference with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin, Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan stressed in Tuesday's remarks: "The YPG militants will withdraw to beyond 30 km into Syria 150 hours after Wednesday noon.

"Turkey and Russia have agreed that the YPG militants in Syria will withdraw to beyond 30 km (19 miles) from the Turkish border and will also leave the towns of Tel Rifaat and Manbij," Turkish leader said in a statement.

Turkish and Russian troops will conduct joint patrols in northern Syria within 10 km of the border, he said, adding that Ankara would also work with Moscow for the safe return of Syrian refugees now in Turkey.

"We had a very productive meeting with our Russian counterparts today," the official said. "We reached an excellent agreement. We agreed to establish a terror-free safe zone," a senior Turkish official told reporters following the Erdoğan-Putin meeting in the city of Sochi, a Black Sea resort, as speaking on condition of anonymity.

The agreement came after the U.S.-backed YPG militants withdrew from an area in northern Syria that Ankara demanded be cleared of the Syrian extension of the bloody-minded PKK terror group.

TURKEY, RUSSIA AGREE ON 'HISTORIC' SYRIA DEAL
Ankara and Moscow on Tuesday agreed on "historic" Syria deal, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan announced after meeting with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin.

According to the deal, starting at 12 noon (0900GMT) on Oct. 23, Russian military police and Syrian border guards will enter the Syrian side of the Turkish-Syrian border, outside the area of Operation Peace Spring to facilitate the removal of YPG/PKK elements and their weapons 30 kilometers (19 miles) off Turkey's border in northern Syria, which should be finalized in 150 hours.

The deal came after Erdoğan paid a one-day working visit to Russia's coastal city of Sochi to meet with Putin to discuss Syria and Turkey's Operation Peace Spring in northern Syria, which was launched on Oct. 9, to eliminate terrorists from northern Syria in order to secure Turkey's borders, aid in the safe return of Syrian refugees and ensure Syria's territorial integrity.

"All YPG elements and their weapons will be removed from Manbij and Tal Rifat [northern Syrian district]," according to the deal.

Turkey and Russia will launch joint efforts to facilitate to return of refugees in a "safe and voluntary" manner.

"A joint monitoring and verification mechanism will be established to oversee and coordinate the implementation of this memorandum," it added.

"TALKS WITH ERDOĞAN HAVE YIELDED 'MOMENTOUS' RESULTS FOR SYRIA"
Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Tuesday that talks with his Turkish counterpart Erdoğan had yielded what he called momentous results for Syria, but did not say what they were.

Putin, speaking at a news conference in southern Russia with Erdoğan, said the two countries' foreign ministers would disclose what had been agreed between the two men later.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov also said on that Moscow and Ankara had agreed that the YPG militants would pull back 30 km (19 miles) from the Syrian border in a deal he heralded as one that would end the bloodshed in the region.

Lavrov, who was speaking after talks between Russian President Vladimir Putin and his Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, said the YPG would also withdraw from the towns of Manbij and Tel Rifaat.

Lavrov said Russian military police and pro-Assad border guards would be deployed on the Syrian side of the border with Turkey from midnight on Oct. 23 outside the zone of Turkey's military operation.