Published 14:27 IST, November 2nd 2019
Russia and Turkey jointly patrol Northern Syrian border "safe zone"
Russia and Turkey jointly patrol the Northern Syrian border "safe zone" under deal between Ankara and Moscow. 18 regime elements, i.e., Syrian soldiers handed.
The "safe zone" on the Syrian border was vacated by Kurdish fighters as Turkish and Russian troops began their first joint ground patrols in northeast Syria on November 1 under a deal between them. Earlier on Wednesday, Russia told Turkey that the YPG left the strip. On Friday, Turkish armoured vehicles reportedly crossed the border joining Russian troops which can be seen in footages captured by an international news agency. Turkish Defence Ministry said on Twitter that both the army and Air Force units were part of the patrol in the Syrian border town of Darbasiya. The Russian defense ministry said that the patrol spread across 110 Km with nine military vehicles from Darbasiya towards the west along the border.
18 "regime elements" handed over
The Turkish Defense Ministry also informed that 18 "regime elements", believed to be Syrian government soldiers have been handed over not mentioning to whom they were handed. The soldiers were reportedly detained in Syria near the Turkish border this week. On Tuesday, they were seized at the southeast of the Syrian town of Ras al-Ain, part of the area where Turkey's military action took place, which stretches some 120km along the border to the town of Tal Abyad. It was as a result of the coordination with the authorities of the Russian Federation, they added.
Erdogan to approach Guetteres for new settlement plans
Earlier on Wednesday, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan had said that the YPG had not completed its pullout. He informed about the patrols on Friday beforehand which were to take place at a depth of 7km within Syria, less than the 10km set out in the October 22 Ankara-Moscow deal. The deal has also led Syrian government forces to move back into border regions from which they had been absent for years. Later on Thursday, Erdogan said that Turkey planned to establish a "refugee town or towns" in a "safe zone" between Tal Abyad and Ras al-Ain. The said plans might just cost 151 billion Lira ($26 bn) for which Erdogan is about to approach Guetteres, who is in Turkey to study the new settlement plans.
Updated 15:10 IST, November 2nd 2019