Russia-Turkey Agreements On Syria Based On Contacts With Damascus, Kurds - Vershinin

Russia-Turkey Agreements on Syria Based on Contacts With Damascus, Kurds - Vershinin

Russia, Damascus and Kurdish forces have been maintaining closed contacts on the conflict settlement in Syria, the agreements between Russia and Turkey are based on their result, Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Vershinin told Sputnik on Wednesday

MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 23rd October, 2019) Russia, Damascus and Kurdish forces have been maintaining closed contacts on the conflict settlement in Syria, the agreements between Russia and Turkey are based on their result, Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Vershinin told Sputnik on Wednesday.

"Contacts between Russia and the Kurds, Damascus and the Kurds have been taking place for a long time. Those were closed, working contacts in the interests of the cause. Therefore, we can confidently say that the agreements that have been worked out in Sochi are based on a certain understanding of how the parties would act," Vershinin said.

Following talks between Russian President Vladimir Putin and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, a Russian-Turkish memorandum was signed on Tuesday in Russia's Sochi, which stipulates that within 150 hours Kurdish militia would be withdrawn to a distance of 30 kilometers (18.6 miles) from the border with Turkey to the west and east of the Operation Peace Spring zone.

In addition, starting from midday on October 23, units of the Russian military police and the Syrian border service will be deployed on the Syrian side of the Syrian-Turkish border to facilitate the withdrawal of Kurdish forces and their weaponry from the border.

After that, the Russian and Turkish military will begin joint patrols to a depth of 10 kilometers from the Syria-Turkish border to the west and east of the Operation Peace Spring zone, except for the city of Qamishli.