Russia says YPG withdrawal in northeastern Syria has been completed

Russian Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu said on Tuesday that YPG militants had withdrawn from a safe zone near the northeastern Syrian border with Turkey faster than scheduled, the TASS news agency reported.
The deal reached between Turkey and Russia regarding Syria goes ahead of the schedule and it is in "full implementation," Shoigu said in a statement.

Shoigu announced "full implementation" of the Russian-Turkish memorandum at a meeting with his Armenian counterpart David Tonoyan in Yerevan.

"The withdrawal of armed forces from the territory where a safety corridor is supposed to be created has been completed ahead of schedule," Russian defence chief said.

"Regime border guards and our military police have been deployed there," Shoigu told Tonoyan.
A deadline for the withdrawal had been set at 6:00 pm local time (1500 GMT) on Tuesday.

He also praised the experience that Russian military gained in Syria, especially on mine lifting.

On Oct. 9, Turkey launched Operation Peace Spring to eliminate terrorists from northern Syria east of the Euphrates River in order to secure Turkey's borders, aid in the safe return of Syrian refugees, and ensure Syria's territorial integrity.

Last week, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin held a meeting in Russia's Black Sea resort town of Sochi.

Ankara and Moscow reached a deal under which YPG/PKK terrorists will pull back 30 kilometers (18.6 miles) south of Turkey's border with northern Syria within 150 hours, and security forces from Turkey and Russia will conduct joint patrols there.

In its more than 30-year terror campaign against Turkey, the PKK -- listed as a terrorist organization by Turkey, the U.S. and the European Union -- has been responsible for the deaths of 40,000 people, including women, children and infants. The YPG is the Syrian offshoot of the PKK.