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Russia, Turkey conclude second joint patrolling mission in northern Syria — top brass

The mission set off from the Aylishar customs checkpoint and involved about 50 Russian and Turkish servicemen, eight armored vehicles and an unmanned aerial vehicle of the Russian military police

MOSCOW, November 5. /TASS/. Russia’s military police and Turkey’s border guard service have finished the second joint patrol mission along the border with Turkey in northern Syria, the Russian Defense Ministry reported on Tuesday. 

"Turkish and Russian units have concluded the second ground patrol to the east of the Euphrates with the participation of unmanned aerial vehicles. Eight units of machinery, four from each side, took part in the patrol in the area of Ayn al-Arab. The length of the Turkish-Russian patrol route reached 73 kilometers," the message informs.

The joint patrol mission set off from the Aylishar customs checkpoint and involved about 50 Russian and Turkish servicemen, eight armored vehicles, including Russian Tigr and Turkish armored cars, and an Orlan-10 unmanned aerial vehicle of the Russian military police that surveyed the situation along the patrol’s route.

On October 22, Russian President Vladimir Putin and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan signed a memorandum on joint actions in northeastern Syria. According to the document, as of noon October 23, Russian military police and Syrian border guards started to monitor the withdrawal of Kurdish military formations to the depth of 30 km from the border. On the outcomes of the agreement, Ankara stated that it had suspended its large-scale military operation in the area. However, Turkey retains control over the territories where it plans to relocate Syrian refugees in the future.

The deadline for the Kurdish forces to withdraw expired on October 29. Turkey and Russia began joint patrolling in northeastern Syria on November 1.