Russian forces begin to patrol safe zone in northern Syria

MOSCOW - Russian military police on Wednesday started to patrol the approved area in northern Syria in accordance with the new memorandum signed by Russia and Turkey, Russian Defense Ministry said.

Earlier, the ministry said that a Russian military police convoy had arrived in Kobani, also named Ayn al-Arab, a city in northern Syria located close to the Syrian-Turkish border.

Russia and Turkey on Tuesday adopted a joint memorandum on establishing a safe zone in northern Syria on the condition of the withdrawal of the Kurdish forces.

According to the document, the Kurdish forces have to withdraw within 150 hours to the depth of 30 km from the Turkish-Syrian border on the Syrian side, and Russian and Turkish forces will start joint patrols in the area of "Operation Peace Spring" in northern Syria to a depth of 10 km, excluding the Qamishli city.

Meanwhile, Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu on Wednesday had a video meeting with commander-in-chief of the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) Mazlum Abdo, and the two sides discussed the progress of the Kurdish party's actions in the framework of the memorandum.

Shoigu proposed to expand patrol routes in the coming days and increase the number of Russian military police units in the Syrian-Turkish border, according to a ministry statement.

He said that civilians do not have to leave their homes in settlements located in the 30-km strip from the Syrian-Turkish border, as the Russian military police and Syrian border guards will guarantee their safety.

Abdo extended gratitude to the Russian side for keeping the Kurdish people safe and for efforts to end the hostilities, the statement said.

Currently, units of the Russian military police and regular Syrian troops are deployed in many areas, according to Abdo.