Turkey and Russia have resumed their joint military patrols in northern Syria after a break of almost a year, the Turkish Defense Ministry said on Saturday.
Joint patrols have begun in the Operation Peace Spring area, the statement said, referring to a 30-kilometer-wide strip of land on the Syrian side of the Turkish-Syrian border between Tal Abyad and Ras al-Ayn. The area was captured from Kurdish fighters by Turkish and allied Syrian forces in 2019.
The renewed Turkish-Russian patrols come amid Ankara’s efforts to repair its relations with Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, whose regime is backed by Moscow.
Assad has said he will only meet with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan to discuss the withdrawal of Turkish troops from Syria and an end to Ankara’s support for Syrian fighters whom Damascus considers terrorists.
Turkish and Russian soldiers first began joint operations in the area in November 2019 and conducted 344 patrols until they were discontinued in October last year, the ministry said.
About 24 Turkish soldiers in four vehicles took part in the first resumed patrol at the eastern end of the Operation Peace Spring area on Thursday.
“It is planned to continue the Joint Land Patrol … 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 a statement.
The operation will also identify “checkpoints, headquarters and military structures” of the Kurdish fighters known as YPG.
Turkey considers the YPG a terrorist organization because of its links to the PKK. The PKK has been waging an insurgency against Ankara for 40 years, which has claimed tens of thousands of lives.
However, the US joined forces with the YPG in 2014 to fight the Islamic State in Syria and continues to support Kurdish fighters under the umbrella of the Syrian Democratic Forces. This relationship has led to tensions between NATO allies Turkey and the US.
