ANKARA, November 16. /TASS/. Russian and Turkish military personnel have completed the seventh joint patrol in northeast Syria, the Turkish Ministry of National Defense reported on Saturday.
"In accordance with the plans, Turkish and Russian servicemen successfully conducted the seventh ground patrol with drone support east of the Euphrates River. The land patrol carried out in the Qamishli-Derik sector involved four [armored] vehicles on each side. The patrolling was also carried out with the air support of a helicopter 10 km inside [Syria]," the statement reads.
On October 9, Turkey launched a military incursion into northern Syria, codenaming it Operation Peace Spring. The goal of the military campaign is to create a buffer zone there, which is going to serve as a security belt for Turkey’s border. On October 22, Moscow and Ankara signed a memorandum of understanding consisting of 10 items, in particular the deployment of Russian military police and Syrian border service units to the Syrian side of the border with Turkey beyond the zone of Operation Peace Spring. According to this deal, they are to facilitate the withdrawal of the Kurdish units 30 km from the Syrian-Turkish border.