Moscow and Ankara made crucial decisions on the situation in the north of Syria, Russian President Vladimir Putin said at a press conference following talks with Turkish leader Recep Tayyip Erdogan. The conversation between the two leaders took place in Sochi and lasted more than six hours.

“I cannot but express satisfaction with the fact that, as a result of quite a long and hard work, we managed to reach decisions that after our statements will be voiced by the foreign ministers,” the president said.

As Putin noted, we are talking about decisions that "are very important, if not fateful." According to the head of the Russian state, the agreements reached will allow "resolving a rather acute situation that has developed today on the Syrian-Turkish border."

According to the results of the press conference of the leaders of Russia and Turkey, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, the text of the documents signed by the parties says, in particular, the agreement between Moscow and Ankara. According to her, from October 23, the Syrian military and the Russian military police will be introduced into the area outside the Turkish operation in the SAR.

“Starting from 12:00 on October 23, 2019, units of the Russian military police and the Syrian border service are being introduced outside the zone of Operation Source of Peace on the Syrian side of the Syrian-Turkish border,” Lavrov read the text of the memorandum.

The document states that they will "facilitate the withdrawal of CBS units and their armaments 30 km from the Syrian-Turkish border, which should be completed within 150 hours after 12:00 on October 23, 2019."

It is indicated that from this moment the joint Russian-Turkish patrol will begin “to a depth of 10 km from the border to the west and east” from the area of ​​the Turkish operation, “except for the city of Kamyshly."

“Mutually respectful cooperation is indispensable”

According to Putin, in the current situation, cooperation on the basis of mutual respect between Turkey and Syria cannot be avoided.

“Turks and Syrians have to defend peace and tranquility on the border together. Here, mutually respectful cooperation between Turkey and Syria cannot be avoided, ”he said.

At the same time, the head of the Russian state emphasized that Syria should be freed from a foreign military presence and the country's integrity should be maintained.

“In our opinion, a lasting and long-term stabilization in Syria as a whole can only be achieved if the sovereignty and territorial integrity of this country is respected. This is a principled position, and we thoroughly spoke about this with the Turkish president, ”Putin said. He also noted that the Turkish side shares this approach.

In addition, Putin called on the international community to actively assist Syrians returning home without preconditions.

“We urge the international community, especially the relevant UN agencies, to actively provide humanitarian assistance to all returning Syrians without discrimination, politicization and preconditions,” the president said.

In turn, Erdogan said that Russia would not allow separatist manifestations in northern Syria. According to him, he discussed with Putin the fight against terrorism and the preservation of the territorial integrity of Syria. He also referred to the agreement concluded by the parties.

“Thanks to this agreement, the creation of any separatist manifestations will not be allowed in the Syrian territories - both Turkey and Russia: we will not allow this,” Erdogan said.

In addition, he noted that Turkey does not need foreign territories, Ankara supports the preservation of Syrian territorial integrity and political integrity.

Erdogan mentioned Operation Source of Peace, which Ankara launched in Syria in early October.

“In this operation, Source of Peace, we are doing everything possible to cleanse these territories of terrorism,” Erdogan said at a briefing following talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin.

He added that "Syrian citizens will be settled in the territories that will be cleared." The Turkish leader estimated their number at 1 million people.

Recall, on October 9, Ankara embarked on a new, third in a row military operation, called the “Source of Peace”.

Before the start of this campaign, Erdogan had a telephone conversation with Putin, during which the Russian leader called on the Turkish leadership to act in such a way as not to damage the overall efforts to resolve the Syrian crisis. In addition, both leaders noted the importance of ensuring the unity and territorial integrity of Syria and respect for its sovereignty.

As part of the operation, Turkey intends to liquidate the Kurdish formations of the "Self-Defense Forces" (YPG) as part of the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDS). These associations enjoyed the support of Washington, however, Ankara ranks these formations as terrorists.

Another task within the framework of the “Source of Peace” is the creation of a security zone in the north of Syria, where Turkey intends to resettle Syrian refugees who have found themselves on its territory.

According to Ankara, there is a legal justification for the operation - the Adan Agreement. This document was signed between Turkey and Syria in 1998. It says that Ankara gains the right to send troops into Syrian territory if Damascus does not take enough action to combat illegal Kurdish formations.

In the US, they strongly opposed the Turkish operation in Syria, threatening Ankara with sanctions. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo later made it clear that the United States was ready to use force against Turkey. He stated this on the eve of the talks between Putin and Erdogan.

"We prefer peace to war ... But if military action is needed, then you should know that President Trump is fully prepared to take such steps," he said in an interview with CNBC. At the same time, Pompeo refused to explain what actions could lead to a military response from the United States.

Note that on October 17, Ankara and Washington agreed to suspend hostilities in Syria to allow Kurdish formations to leave the security zone. Pentagon chief Mark Esper later said he ruled out the possibility of military action against Turkey in order to protect the Kurds from the effects of the Source of Peace military operation.

“We are not going to fight with a NATO ally, much less we will not do this from abroad, which we did not subscribe to guard,” TASS quoted him as saying.

The "source of peace" ceases

As explained by Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, Operation Source of Peace in northern Syria is being halted. He stated this at a press conference after the words of the leaders of Russia and Turkey.

“It is being stopped, and everything will depend on how the agreements are implemented, including on the withdrawal of weapons and the withdrawal of forces and means of the Kurdish units in question, the so-called CBS,” the Russian diplomat said.

We add that following the results of negotiations between Putin and Erdogan, the Russian leader informed about the agreements reached by Syrian President Bashar Assad. The conversation took place over the telephone at the initiative of Moscow.

“The head of the Russian state informed his Syrian counterpart about the outcome of the meeting (with Erdogan - RT ), which lasted more than six hours, outlined the main provisions of the memorandum of understanding agreed upon at the end of the meeting,” spokesman for the Russian leader Dmitry Peskov told Putin and Assad about the conversation. .

According to him, the Russian president stressed that in the end the main task is to restore the territorial integrity of Syria and to continue joint efforts on the political track, including work within the framework of the Constitutional Committee.

According to Peskov, Assad supported the decisions made by Putin and Erdogan.

“President Assad thanked Vladimir Putin, expressed his full support for the results of the work, as well as the willingness of Syrian border guards to go to the border together with the Russian military police,” said the spokesman for the Russian president.