Turkey and Russia resume joint patrols in northern Syria

ISTANBUL — Turkey and Russia have resumed joint military patrols in northern Syria after nearly a year’s break, the Turkish Defense Ministry announced Saturday.

Combined patrols began in the Operation Peace Spring area, the statement said, referring to a 30-kilometer (19-mile) -deep strip of land on the Syrian side of the Turkey-Syria border between Tal Abyad and Ras al-Ayn. The territory was captured from Kurdish fighters by Turkish and allied Syrian forces in 2019.

The renewed Turkish-Russian patrols come as Ankara is trying to repair its relations with Syrian President Bashar Assad, whose regime draws support from Moscow.

Assad has said he will only meet Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan to discuss the withdrawal of Turkish troops from Syria and an end to Ankara’s support for Syrian fighters that Damascus considers terrorists.

Turkish and Russian soldiers first began joint operations in the area in November 2019, conducting 344 patrols until October last year, when they were suspended, the ministry said.

Some 24 Turkish personnel in four vehicles took part in the first resumed patrol on Thursday at the eastern end of the Operation Peace Spring area.

“It is planned to continue the United 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 its statement.

The operation would also identify “checkpoints, headquarters and military structures” of Kurdish fighters known as the YPG.

Turkey considers the YPG a terrorist organization due to its links to the PKK, which has fought a 40-year insurgency against Ankara, leading to tens of thousands of deaths.

The United States, however, partnered with the YPG in 2014 to fight the Islamic State group in Syria and continues to support the Kurdish fighters under the umbrella of the Syrian Democratic Forces. The relationship has led to tensions between NATO allies Turkey and the U.S.