Ankara/Sputnik/UNI: The Kurdish forces have not yet completely withdrawn from the areas in northern Syria that they were supposed to have left in accordance with the agreements that Turkey reached with Russia and the United States, Turkish Defense Minister Hulusi Akar said on Tuesday.
"As a result of Operation Peace Spring, a security zone clear of terrorists was created. We coordinated our activities, fulfilling agreements with the United States and Russia. This coordination is ongoing, especially with the Russian side. Our colleagues monitor the situation day and night and know that the terrorists are still present in the west and the east of this zone," Akar said, as quoted by A Haber broadcaster.
A Turkish delegation headed by Turkish Deputy Foreign Minister Sedat Onal is currently in Moscow to discuss the issues.
Turkey launched Operation Peace Spring in northeastern Syria to clear the area of the Kurdish militia, labeled as terrorists by Ankara, and the Islamic State terror group (banned in Russia), on October 9. Eight days later, Turkey agreed with the United States on a 120-hour ceasefire to allow the withdrawal of the Kurdish fighters from the Syrian-Turkish border.
As the ceasefire came to an end, Turkey and Russia signed on October 22 a memorandum, setting conditions for the peaceful withdrawal of Kurdish militia from an 18-mile border zone outside the area of the operation and envisioning joint patrols to ensure the implementation of the agreement. Since then, joint patrols have been conducted regularly by the Russian military police and Turkish troops.
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