“Memorandum is being implemented”: Russia and Turkey complete the first joint patrol in Syria

The Russian and Turkish military began on November 1 the first joint patrol in Syria. It is reported by the Russian Ministry of Defense.

“From 12:15 on November 1, 2019, the first joint patrol of the Russian military police and the Turkish border service began patrolling the Syrian-Turkish border,” the Russian military said.

The Russian and Turkish military began to move from the western frontier “Derbysia” on the armored vehicles “Tiger”, “Typhoon” and Kirpi. The movement of the column was ensured by the BTR-82 armored personnel carrier.

The first joint patrol lasted four hours, the Turkish Ministry of Defense said. Ankara noted that the Russian and Turkish military together crossed the territory between the settlements of Ras al-Ain and Kamyshly.

The first joint land patrol was completed in Ad Darbasiyah region to the east of Euphrates, in which Turkish and Russian military elements participated with four vehicles each and UAVs.https: //t.co/HHK2pJUFtTpic.twitter.com/9AWSkf6pm8

The message of the Russian Ministry of Defense noted that the military personnel of the two countries together traveled more than 100 km.

Recall that on October 22, after the talks in Sochi, the presidents of Russia and Turkey, Vladimir Putin and Recep Tayyip Erdogan, a memorandum of understanding was signed. Moscow and Ankara agreed that the territory of the Turkish operation "Source of Peace" in northern Syria will be limited to the area between the cities of Tel Abyad and Ras al-Ain. Russia has committed to facilitate the withdrawal of Kurdish forces from the border with Turkey to a depth of 30 km.

It was also agreed that the Russian military police, along with the Syrian border guards, will occupy positions along the Turkish-Syrian border, after which a joint Russian-Turkish patrol will begin on a 10 km zone deep into Syria to the west and east of the operation area "Source of Peace" except for the city of Kamyshly.

Ahead of schedule and in full

On October 23, the Russian military began to implement the provisions of the memorandum. On Tuesday, October 26, Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu said that the withdrawal of Kurdish forces in accordance with the Sochi agreements was completed ahead of schedule.

• Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu
• © Sergey Guneev / RIA News

The Syrian Foreign Ministry welcomed the withdrawal of Kurdish units. President Erdogan said that he was informed about the incident.

Later, the Russian Center for the Reconciliation of the warring parties in Syria reported that our country fully complied with the provisions of the memorandum of October 22. 68 Kurdish detachments of up to 34 thousand people and more than 3 thousand units of weapons and military equipment were taken 30 km from the border with Turkey.

On October 30, the Turkish Ministry of Defense announced the beginning of mine clearance and reconnaissance flights on routes along which joint Russian-Turkish patrols should follow.

On the same day, the Russian Minister of Defense noted that, although the Russian-Turkish memorandum “is not being implemented without difficulty”, “it is probably the only way to establish peace and preserve the sovereignty of Syria.” Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov emphasized that “when rough agreements are implemented on the ground, some roughness is inevitable,” but the Russian Foreign Ministry has no reports of major clashes between Turkish and Syrian forces in areas covered by the Sochi memorandum.

“The Sochi memorandum can be considered an achievement,” said Yuri Mavashev, director of the Center for the Study of New Turkey, in an interview with RT. “But even when it was achieved, it was clear that there were quite a few white spots.” One of them is how Russia and Turkey will be able to achieve their goals on earth - the withdrawal of Kurdish armed forces. Therefore, the news that the patrol has begun is itself evidence of a normalization of the situation in northern Syria. ”

In turn, an expert of the Russian Council on Foreign Affairs Alexei Khlebnikov noted in an interview with RT that "the memorandum is being implemented."

“Coordination of interaction between the Russian and Turkish armies is inevitable. One way or another, their interaction will continue, ”the expert said.

US failure

The agreements between Russia and Turkey on Syria were preceded by an agreement between Turkey and the United States. He was signed on October 17 during a visit by Vice President Mike Pence and Secretary of State Mike Pompeo to Ankara. Then the Turks and Americans agreed to suspend Operation Source of Peace for 120 hours and withdraw Kurdish formations from the 30-kilometer zone on the border with Turkey.

• US troops in northern Syria
• © Delil SOULEIMAN / AFP

The ceasefire regime introduced by this agreement ended on October 22, but Kurdish forces never left the final agreed zone. Erdogan said that Washington has not fully complied with its obligations to Ankara. The withdrawal of Kurdish formations was allowed by the Russian-Turkish agreement.

Nevertheless, Turkey continued contacts on the Syrian issue with both Russia and the United States. At the same time, on October 22, Mike Pompeo announced his readiness to use military force against Turkey, if necessary. Later, President Donald Trump promised to impose new sanctions against Ankara if the Turkish military opens fire on Kurdish forces.

Local Kurdish media reported that in some areas of northern Syria patrols of the remaining US troops there met resistance from the pro-Turkish Syrian national army. No similar incidents involving the Russian military are known.

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“The Turkish military does not trust the United States, not only in Syria,” says Yuri Mavashev. - The USA today is perceived by Turkey not as a friend, but rather as an enemy. And not without reason. ”

In particular, according to the expert, the adoption by the US Congress of the bill on sanctions against Turkey because of Operation Source of Peace and the resolution recognizing the Armenian Genocide, which Ankara took as a slap in the face, was significant.

As military expert Ivan Konovalov noted in an interview with RT, only Russia was able to influence the Kurds and facilitate the withdrawal of their forces from the border. The Americans did not succeed, and when Ankara pressed, the United States, instead of supporting the Kurdish allies, "simply betrayed them."

Russia, however, was able to achieve a compromise that would suit all parties, thereby halting large-scale hostilities, the analyst said.

“The departure of the Kurds from the border territory is associated only with the tough stance of Russia. Now they are forced to listen to the opinion of the legitimate government of Syria, said Konovalov. - For the Russian side, the main thing in Syria remains the preservation of peace. Our presence there saved the situation. ”

Prospects for cooperation

According to Mavashev, there are “no insoluble difficulties” in Russian-Turkish cooperation in Syria.

“The prospects for cooperation between the Russian and Turkish armies in Syria can be called positive. Already many problems have been resolved. One of the most important of them was the liberation of Aleppo. Then, thanks to the joint efforts of Russia, Turkey and Iran, it was possible to withdraw part of the militants and their families to Idlib province. And it was quite difficult, the expert notes. “Now most of the territory has already been freed from militants.”

On November 1, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said that the actions of Russia and Turkey in Syria allowed us to begin a substantive discussion about the future of the Kurdish regions of this country.

“We have created conditions that will allow us to calmly, not in the intervals between hostilities, agree on the fate of the Kurds in Syria,” the head of the Russian diplomatic office said in an interview with Russia 24.

• Demonstration of Syrian Kurds
• © Azad Lashkari / Reuters

According to Mavashev, the successful interaction of the Russian and Turkish military in Syria paves the way for a political settlement in the country.

“This is only the first step. Much remains to be decided. Now the general attention is focused on the constitutional committee, which has recently begun its work. And a lot will depend on whether success on earth will be supported by a political settlement, ”the expert said.

According to Konovalov, Ankara is “trying to play its game” in Syria, but it will undoubtedly listen to the position of Russia

“Russia has shown by its actions: we have a clear position and we are consistently defending it. And in the Middle East, this is most important. There are two concepts: lose face or save face. The Americans have lost him, ”the political scientist claims.