Russian President Vladimir Putin and Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan shake hands. | Photo Credit: Reuters
The Turkish Defense Ministry announced on Saturday (August 24, 2024) that Turkey and Russia have resumed joint military patrols in northern Syria after a gap of nearly a year.
The statement said joint patrols began in the Operation Peace Spring area, referring to a 30-kilometre (19 mile) deep strip of land on the Syrian side of the Turkey-Syria border between Tal Abyad and Ras al-Ain. The area was seized by Turkish and allied Syrian forces from Kurdish fighters in 2019.
The renewal of Turkish-Russian patrols comes at a time when Ankara is trying to improve its ties with Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, whose government is backed by Moscow.
Mr Assad has said he will meet Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan only to discuss the withdrawal of Turkish troops from Syria and an end to Ankara’s support for Syrian fighters, whom Damascus regards as terrorists.
The ministry said Turkish and Russian troops first launched joint operations in the region in November 2019, carrying out 344 patrols until October last year before suspending them.
About 24 Turkish personnel in four vehicles began patrolling the eastern edge of the Operation Peace Spring area for the first time on Thursday.
“It is planned to continue joint land patrols to ensure the security of our country’s borders and the civilian population in the region (and) to establish stability in northern Syria,” the ministry said in its statement.
The operation will also identify “checkpoints, headquarters and military formations” of the Kurdish fighters known as the YPG.
Turkiye considers the YPG a terrorist organisation because of its links to the PKK, which has waged a 40-year insurgency against Ankara, resulting in thousands of deaths.
However, the United States partnered with the YPG in 2014 to fight the Islamic State group in Syria and continues to support Kurdish fighters under the auspices of the Syrian Democratic Forces. This relationship has caused tensions between NATO ally Turkey and the United States.