Turkey announces possible expansion of joint patrols with Russia in Syria

Turkey and Russia can expand the format of joint patrols in northern Syria, Turkish Defense Minister Hulusi Akar said, commenting on the results of the last meeting in Moscow, transmits TV channel TRT.

“Contacts will continue. On this occasion, the necessary agreements have been reached. We can develop joint patrols with Russia in northern Syria. This process will continue in the form of repeated expert meetings,” he said.

The minister stressed that Turkey respects the territorial integrity of neighboring countries, and its only goal is to protect the interests of its citizens.

In 2019, Russia and Turkey agreed on the withdrawal of Kurdish formations from the border areas, as well as joint patrols in this zone. The areas adjacent to the zone inhabited by Kurds de jure came under the control of the Moscow-allied Syrian government in Damascus, in a number of important points for the first time since 2012, units of the Syrian Arab Army (SAA) appeared, but in fact control over the situation has since been carried out by the military police of Russia.

Turkey considers the Syrian Kurdish SDF / YPG terrorist formations, which, in its opinion, are associated with the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), recognized as terrorist in Turkey. Since mid-November, the Turkish Air Force has been conducting airstrikes on targets in the territories under their control. At the same time, Ankara has repeatedly announced plans to conduct a ground operation against the Kurds.

December 28 in Moscow passed tripartite talks between the heads of the ministries of defense of Russia, Turkey and Syria, in parallel, a meeting was held between the heads of intelligence – the head of the Russian Foreign Intelligence Service Sergey Naryshkin, the head of the Turkish intelligence department Hakan Fidan and the head of the Syrian military intelligence department Rafik Shahad.

The Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation noted the constructive nature of the meetings and announced the need to continue interaction in this format in the interests of further stabilizing the situation in Syria. The press service of the Turkish Defense Ministry reported that the meeting discussed “the Syrian crisis, the problem of refugees and joint efforts to combat all terrorist organizations in Syria.”

By data Syrian newspaper Al-Watan, Ankara agreed to withdraw troops from northern Syria after this meeting, but Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said that for this necessary first appropriate political steps. A new meeting of representatives of Turkey, Russia and Syria may take place in the second half of January, he added.