ANKARA, November 11. /TASS/. Russia and Turkey have started the fourth joint land patrol in northeastern Syria on Monday, the Turkish Ministry of National Defense reported.

"Under the agreement reached with the Russian Federation in Sochi on October 22, 2019, the fourth land patrol with the participation of military units from Turkey and Russia and the use of drones started in the Derbasia area east of the Euphrates [River]," the ministry reported.

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. The first joint patrol east of the Euphrates River in Syria took place on November 1 in the Qamishli area, the second on November 5 in the Ayn al-Arab area and the third on November 8 between the communities of Qamishli and al-Malikiyah.