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On Tuesday, October 22, 2019, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan meets his Russian counterpart a few hours before the end of the truce in the Turkish attack on northern Syria in Sochi. It is there that he negotiates the rest of his plans.
With our correspondent in Istanbul, Anne Andlauer
At 19:00 GMT this Tuesday is the end of Turkey's deadline for Kurdish forces to evacuate a border area in northern Syria. Recep Tayyip Erdogan has threatened to resume his offensive without delay in case of non-compliance with the agreement with the United States.
The Turkish president arrived in Sochi, Russia, to hold talks with his counterpart Vladimir Putin. It is especially there that Tayyip Erdogan will negotiate the rest of his plans.
As for the ultimatum that runs until Tuesday night, the Turkish president finally seems to be content with a region of 120 kilometers long and 32 kilometers deep, between Tal Abyad and Ras Al Ain . This corresponds to the area covered by the Turkish army and its Syrian auxiliaries during the first nine days of their offensive.
Before flying to Sochi, Recep Tayyip Erdogan mentioned the number of 700 to 800 Kurdish fighters who have already evacuated the area, and 1,200 to 1,300 others who would be withdrawing. He rejected calls to extend the ceasefire and repeated that he would resume his operation if withdrawal was not fully completed on Tuesday night.
Same threats from the Ministry of Defense, which announced in a statement that the Turkish army would strike at 22:01 local time - a minute after the end of the truce - if it was facing " terrorists ", ie Kurdish fighters.
Assad forces in northern Syria
But the Turkish president has not abandoned his goal of a large security zone of about 440 kilometers long. The problem is that in the areas not yet invested by the Turkish army, it is the Syrian regime , supported by Russia, which has taken a stand in recent days.
Recep Tayyip Erdogan will therefore negotiate with Vladimir Putin a formula that would completely remove the Kurdish forces from the Turkish-Syrian border.