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Conflict in Syria

Russian military police in Syria depart for joint patrol with Turkey

The patrol mission will be conducted by a convoy of three Tigr all-terrain infantry mobility vehicles and one BTR armored personnel carrier

© Sergei Novikov/TASS

AYLISHAR /Syria/, October 31. /TASS/. Russian military police stationed in Syria are departing from the Aylishar border crossing in northern Syria on a joint patrol with Turkish forces on Thursday.

"The route is difficult, because the emphasis was placed on preventing the military convoy <…> from entering the city of Kobani. That’s why we are to bypass the city travelling along country roads," military police officer Ivan Zhukov told reporters.

The patrol mission will be conducted by a convoy of three Tigr all-terrain infantry mobility vehicles and one BTR armored personnel carrier. The 160-km route will lie along the Syrian-Turkish border, to the depth of 10 km into the Syrian territory.

On October 22, Presidents Vladimir Putin of Russia and Recep Tayyip Erdogan of Turkey signed a memorandum on joint actions to resolve the situation in northeastern Syria. According to the document, Russian military police units and Syrian troops were deployed to areas adjacent to the zone of Turkey’s Operation Peace Spring. Kurdish units were given 150 hours to pull out of the 30-km zone along the Syria-Turkey border.

Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu said on Tuesday that the withdrawal of Kurdish forces had been completed ahead of schedule. After that, Russia and Turkey are to begin joint patrols in the 10-km zone along the border to the west and east of the area of Turkey’s operation, except for the city of Qamishli.

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