From Friday, joint patrols between the Turkish and Russian armies will be organized in the "security zone" established in Syrian territory, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan announced on Wednesday (October 30th) in a speech to his party's parliamentary group. Ankara.
According to an agreement reached last week between the Turkish President and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin, the Kurdish militia of the People's Protection Units (YPG) had until Tuesday at 15 GMT to withdraw from its border positions of the Turkey. The Turkish president said on Wednesday he had information that YPG Kurdish fighters had not withdrawn completely from the 30-km-wide strip of land.
Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu said Tuesday that the withdrawal of Kurdish fighters was over.
A patrol planned initially Tuesday
To verify this, on Tuesday evening Turkey had to carry out joint patrols with Russia, according to the agreement concluded last week in Sochi between Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Vladimir Putin. The patrols will finally start only Friday and they will sink first of seven kilometers in Syrian territory, instead of the 10 originally planned, said the Turkish president.
Turkey intends to set up a "security zone" some 30 kilometers deep along its border to separate it from the YPG, which it describes as "terrorists" but which are allied with Western countries in the region. fight against the Islamic State organization.
The agreement with Russia and another concluded a few days earlier with the United States led to the cessation of an offensive launched by Turkey on 9 October against the Kurdish forces.
"We reserve the right to resume our operation if we see that the terrorists have not withdrawn beyond 30 km or if attacks continue, wherever they come from," said Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
With AFP and Reuters