Russia, Turkey adopt memorandum on northern Syria situation after Putin-Erdogan talks

Source: Xinhua| 2019-10-23 05:39:15|Editor: huaxia
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Russian President Vladimir Putin (R, Rear) and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan (L, Rear) attend a joint news conference following their meeting in Sochi, Russia, on Oct. 22, 2019. (Sputnik via Xinhua)

Russian and Turkish forces will carry out joint patrolling on the Syrian territories 10 kilometers away from the Turkish border, according to the memorandum.

SOCHI, Russia, Oct. 22 (Xinhua) -- Russia and Turkey have adopted a joint memorandum on the situation in Syria after the talks between Russian President Vladimir Putin and his Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan in Sochi.

According to the memorandum, Moscow and Ankara have agreed to deploy Russian and Syrian forces in zone of the Turkish operation in Syria starting from Wednesday.

"Starting 12:00 noon (0900 GMT) of October 23, 2019, 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 (Kurdish People's Protection Units) elements and their weapons to the depth of 30 km from the Turkish-Syrian border, which should be finalized in 150 hours," the document published on the Kremlin's website said.

"At that moment, joint Russian-Turkish patrols will start in the west and the east of the area of Operation Peace Spring with a depth of 10 km, except Qamishli city," it added.

Both parties will take the necessary measures to prevent the infiltration of terrorism, the memorandum said.

A joint monitoring and verification mechanism will be established to review and coordinate the implementation of this memorandum, it said.

On Oct. 9, Turkey launched a military offensive dubbed "Operation Peace Spring" in northern Syria bordering southern Turkey in an attempt to fight Kurdish forces, which are deemed by Ankara as separatists and terrorists.

Following the Turkish action, the Kurdish Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria said on Oct. 13 that it had reached an agreement with the Syrian government, backed by Russia, allowing the Syrian army to assume control of some Kurdish-held areas to counter Turkey's military progress.

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