Turkey will begin joint military patrols with Russia in northwest Syria on Friday, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan announced on Wednesday.

The patrols will initially begin within a 7 kilometer (5 miles) zone south of the Turkish border.

The statement comes a day after the expiration of the 150-hour agreement for Syrian border guards and Russian military police to remove Kurdish forces 30 kilometers from the Turkish border in northeast Syria.

Erdogan on Wednesday disputed the claim by Russian military police that the Kurdish YPG militia, which is allied with the US, had left the strip.

Turkey reserves the right to launch another operation against the YPG in the area, said Erdogan.

Read more: Opinion: Erdogan wins big as clock ticks for Syria Kurds

Turkey considers the militia, the main component of the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), a terrorist group linked to the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), which has fought a nearly four-decade war for Kurdish rights against the Turkish state.

According to a statement released by the Turkish Defense Ministry on Tuesday, the Turkish-Russian patrols "will be initiated in the west and east of the borders of current Operation Peace Spring at a depth of 10 kilometers."

The joint operations will include mine clearances and reconnaissance activities.

The upcoming Russia-Turkey operations were initially agreed in talks between Russian President Vladimir Putin and Erdogan in Sochi on October 22, in addition to the 150-hour period that expired on Tuesday.

The leaders met to discuss a solution following Turkey's offensive into the strip of land in northeast Syria.

Turkey entered the area to drive out Kurdish fighters after US President Donald Trump announced the withdrawal of US troops from the region earlier in October.

Who are the major players in northern Syria? US: Troop pullback Over the past years, US troops have supported Kurdish fighters as they battled radical "Islamic State" (IS) militants to take back control of large areas of northern Syria. In what was seen as a surprising turnaround, US President Donald Trump announced in early October that he was withdrawing US troops from the region's border with Turkey. This pullback left a vacuum for others to act and react.

Who are the major players in northern Syria? Turkey: Anti-Kurdish offensive Trump's troop withdrawal was a de-facto go-ahead for Turkey to launch an offensive into northeast Syria. The region is home to a largely autonomous Kurdish population and Kurdish militants known as the YPG, who are tied to an outlawed Kurdish party in Turkey. Turkey, who has faced a Kurdish insurgency, sees the Syrian Kurds as a threat to its security, hence the military action.

Who are the major players in northern Syria? Kurdish YPG: Fighting Turkish forces The YPG was one of the US' main allies in the fight to drive out IS from north Syria, but since October it has been fighting the Turkish forces that crossed into Syria. The YPG lacks strong air capabilities and defenses, putting it at a decided disadvantage in comparison to the Turkish army.

Who are the major players in northern Syria? SDF: Betrayed by the US The YPG is the largest component of the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), which also includes Arab and Christian militias. The SDF, which fought IS, controls northeastern Syria and feels betrayed by the US pullback. It is now fighting Turkish troops and their allies. It has warned that the Turkish offensive could distract from making sure IS fighters do not renew their strength in Syria.

Who are the major players in northern Syria? Syrian government army: Deal made The relationship between Syrian President Bashar Assad's troops and the SDF is a tricky one that shifts between cooperation, live-and-let-live and skirmishes, depending on the current situation. After Turkey launched its offensive, the Kurds struck a deal with the government that saw Syrian troops mobilized to fight the Turkish forces, allowing them to enter a region they had ceded to the SDF.

Who are the major players in northern Syria? Russia: Stepping up, stepping in Russia has consistently backed the government of Syrian President Assad (L, with Putin in 2018) and assisted its forces. After US troops pulled out of the Kurdish areas, Russia moved its troops in to act as a buffer for Syrian government forces advancing towards the Turkish army. Moscow wants Syria to remain united and has accused the US of creating parallel structures in the Kurdish region.

Who are the major players in northern Syria? SNA: Turkey's Syrian allies Turkey also has allies among Syrian fighters. The Syrian National Army (SNA), also known as the Free Syrian Army, is a Syrian rebel group that has fought against the SDF and Assad's government. Backed by Turkey, SNA fighters took part in previous Turkish offensives against Kurdish militias inside Syria. Currently, thousands of SNA fighters are fighting the YPG alongside Turkish forces.

Who are the major players in northern Syria? IS: A renewed role? One possible future actor is IS. While it was essentially defeated in March 2019, tens of thousands of its fighters and their families remain in prisons or guarded camps in the Kurdish area of the country. Nearly a thousand alone have already escaped from a camp that was caught in the fighting between Kurdish militias and Turkish forces. Should the situation grow more unstable, IS could regroup. Author: Uta Steinwehr, Cristina Burack



kmm/stb (Reuters/AFP)

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