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Joint Turkish-Russian patrols resume in northern Syria

Daily Sabah WORLD
Published February 18,2020
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Turkish and Russian military vehicles return following a joint patrol in northeast Syria, as they are pictured near the Turkish border town of Kızıltepe in Mardin province, Turkey, Nov. 1, 2019. (Reuters File Photo)

The Turkish and Russian militaries have resumed holding joint patrols in the area near the Syria-Turkey border, reports said Tuesday.

The Turkish military and Russian military police held a patrol in the Qamishli-Shayrak-Dalik-Qasra-Arada-Qabira-Tavrat-Shavkat-Dalik-Shayrak-Qamishli route, the head of Russia's Center for Reconciliation of Parties in Syria, Oleg Juravlyov, said in a news conference.

The Russian military police have also held patrols in the Aleppo and Raqqa regions, Juravlyov added.

Ankara and Moscow agreed to conduct the joint patrols during high-level talks between President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and Russian President Vladimir Putin in Sochi on Oct. 22.

However, the joint patrols were canceled after Assad regime forces targeted Turkish troops in Syria's Idlib.

The two countries reached a deal under which the PKK-affiliated YPG terrorists will pull back 30 kilometers (18 miles) south of Turkey's border with northern Syria within 150 hours.

The patrols are scheduled to be conducted in an area 10 kilometers into Syrian territory.

The first round of patrols was conducted 40 kilometers east of Ras al-Ayn and 30 kilometers west of Qamishli on Nov. 1.