Russian-Turkish joint patrols have resumed in northeastern Syria after more than a year of interruption.
The Russian news agency TASS reported on Friday, August 23, that joint ground patrol activities between Turkey and Russia have resumed in Syria with the participation of four vehicles from the Turkish side and four from the Russian side.
It added that the joint ground patrol was carried out under the Sochi agreement and its implementation principles signed in 2019 between the two sides.
It indicated that it is planned to continue this joint activity in the future.
For its part, the Anadolu Agency quoted a statement from the Turkish Ministry of Defense, announcing the resumption of the patrols after about a year of interruption.
The Turkish defense statement on Friday said that joint ground patrol activities resumed on August 22, with the participation of four military vehicles and 24 personnel from the armed forces in the eastern part of the Peace Spring operation area.
The Turkish Ministry of Defense stated that “the goal of continuing joint ground patrol activities is to ensure the security of our country’s borders and the civilian population in the region, establish stability in northern Syria, identify control points, headquarters, and military structures of the PKK/YPG-SDF terrorist organization, which must leave the area according to agreements Turkey has made with the United States and Russia, and to demonstrate Turkish-Russian cooperation in combating terrorism.”
Turkey views the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) as an extension of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), which is listed as a terrorist organization and demands the withdrawal of its fighters from areas under American influence in the provinces of Raqqa, al-Hasakah, and Deir Ezzor, as well as Russian-influenced areas in northern and eastern Aleppo province.
The Sochi agreement dates back to 2019 and includes parts related to opposition-controlled areas in Idlib province and its surroundings, as well as areas controlled by the SDF in eastern Aleppo province and parts of northern al-Hasakah countryside.
While the patrol-related part of the agreement did not succeed in Idlib province, patrols continued in al-Hasakah province until September 2023, but they stopped again due to what Turkey said were security reasons.
After the beginning of the Russian invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, the Russian Reconciliation Center stopped issuing its daily field reports and updates, which included joint military patrols in Syria. The center has issued daily and monthly reports since 2016.
In March 2022, the last report was released by the Russian Ministry of Defense through its official Facebook account, while reports on the ministry’s official website have ceased since 2019. The news from the Reconciliation Center has been limited to statements from its officials, conveyed by Russian news agencies and media outlets.
The Turkish Ministry of Defense also stopped announcing the patrols it participated in during 2023.