ANKARA (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 23rd October, 2019) The Turkish-Russian memorandum on northeast Syria signifies a "new era" in relations of the two countries, Fahrettin Altun, the Turkish presidency's communications director, said.
On Tuesday, presidents Vladimir Putin and Recep Tayyip Erdogan adopted a memorandum to resolve the situation on the Syrian-Turkish border in light of Ankara's offensive against Kurdish militia.
"Today's agreement between Turkey and Russia marks the beginning of a new era in our bilateral relations. This is a great day for civilized nations fighting against terrorist groups. Syria's territorial integrity and political unity are key to a stable future in the region," Altun wrote on Twitter.
The memorandum indeed starts with the sides reaffirming their commitment to Syrian territorial integrity, while also taking note of Turkey's national security concerns and opposing any "separatist agendas" on Syrian land. The document, in particular, preserves the status quo in the area of the Turkish offensive between the towns of Tal Abiad and Ras al-Ain.
Under the document, Russian military police and Syrian border guards will facilitate the withdrawal of Kurdish militia from a 30-kilometer (18-mile) zone on the border within 150 hours starting from Wednesday. Afterward, the Russian and Turkish forces will begin jointly patrolling the area to the west and the east of Ankara's operation, except for the border city of Qamishli.
Following the Sochi talks, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said that the new memorandum de facto stipulated an end to Turkey's operation Peace Spring, which was launched in early October. He, however, stressed that much would depend on the future withdrawal of Kurdish militia from the border area.
