SEVIMLI – Turkish and Russian troops in armored vehicles held their first joint ground patrols in northeast Syria under a deal between the two countries that forced a Kurdish militia away from territory near Turkey’s border.
Turkey and allied Syrian rebels launched a cross-border offensive on Oct. 9 against the Kurdish YPG militia, seizing control of the 120 km (75 miles) of land along the frontier.
A television footage showed Turkish armored vehicles on Friday drove across the border to join their Russian counterparts.
Russia is Syria’s most powerful ally and helped it turn the tables in the country’s civil war by retaking much of the country from rebels since 2015. The Turkish-Russian deal last week allowed Syrian government forces to move back into border regions from which they had been absent for years.(Reuters)
