Preparations continue by the Turkish Forces and residents of Tal Rifaat area; to start entering Tal Rifaat and its surrounding in the northern countryside of Aleppo city, in the wake of Russian – Turkish consensus to keep away regime’s loyalists, Iran, and Kurdish forces from the area, in return for a Turkish-Russian entry to the area, handing over the administration and of the city and its surroundings to its people through local councils, where the Russian – Turkish consensus came after a series of consultation meetings between both parties, after the stubbornness of the Iranian and refusing the entry of Turkey earlier despite the Russian approval of it.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights received in early June that members and officers of the Iranian Forces; and of the forces loyal them have withdrawn from Tall Rifaat area and its surroundings in the northern countryside of Aleppo, after Russian – Iranian disagreements about Russian – Turkish consultations to deliver Tall Rifaat to the Turkish Forces and the Syrian military opposition, in return for the withdrawal of the Syrian opposition factions from the triangle of west Jesr al-Shughur – Sahl al-Ghab – the northeastern countryside of Latakia. The withdrawal of the Iranian officers and members loyal to them coincided with the arrival of the Russian military vehicles, accompanied by regime’s vehicles to Tal Rifaat area, where it is suggested that they came to switch regime’s military units in the area, also the sources added that the consultations are underway about completing the opening of Gaziantep road, which connects Turkey to the southern border of Syria with Jordan, and ending the presence of the Kurdish Forces in the northern countryside of Aleppo after their withdrawal from Afrin.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights learned from a number of reliable sources, that it is expected during the coming 24 hours, that the Turkish forces will start to enter Tel Rifaat, and the surrounding area, provided that the entry will be according a coordination agreed between the Russians and the Turks, where the reliable sources confirmed that the Turkish forces will enter Tel Rifaat and its vicinity, with the Russian forces, and they will be deployed in it, then the city will be secured by internal security forces trained earlier by the Turkish forces, including local members of the people of the area, and then a local administration of the city and local service councils composed of residents of the area, will be formed, in addition to securing the return of the displaced people of who were approved to return, after registering lists of the names of those who want to return to Tel Rifaat, and this process of entry will be implemented with Russian guarantee with regard to the withdrawal of the Kurdish forces, the gunmen loyal to the regime, and Iran from Tel Rifaat and its vicinity.

The Syrian Observatory published on the 16th of June 2018, that it received information from several reliable sources about the resumption of the Turkish – Russian talks and to be carried out by local parties in the northern countryside of Aleppo, about Tal Rifaat area and the areas where Iranian forces reside with Syrian and non-Syrian gunmen supported by it, where sources informed the Syrian Observatory that movements and discussions are taking place to get the Iranians out of the area along with the regime forces, and for the entry of a Russian – Turkish joint forces, and preventing the entry of any faction of the Syrian the rebel and Islamic factions from entering into the area, also the agreement is based on deploying military police in the area to maintain internal security, the sources also indicated to the Observatory that there was a process of registering names of people from Tal Rifaat and the nearby villages who are interested in returning to their homes, from which they have been displaced during the military operation in early 2016, after which the Syria Democratic Forces and the Kurdish Forces have been able to control the area, where the lists of names of people wishing to return will be studied.