This archive report was first published on 22 October 2019.
On October 23, 2019, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Russian President Vladimir Putin announced a landmark agreement regarding Syrian territory.
According to Erdogan, the agreement prohibits any separatist agenda on Syrian soil, as he stated during a joint press conference with Putin in Sochi, Russia.
As part of the agreement, Erdogan set a 150-hour deadline for Syrian Kurdish YPG fighters and their weapons to be moved back 30 kilometers from the Turkish border, starting at noon on October 23.
"Within 150 hours starting at 1200 noon on October 23, YPG terrorists and their weapons will be removed to the depth of 30 kilometres and their positions will be destroyed," Erdogan said.
Following the deadline, joint Turkish-Russian patrols will begin in two zones stretching 10 kilometers to the east and west of the area of Turkey's current Operation Peace Spring.
Both countries will also take measures against "terrorist infiltrations" and establish a "joint mechanism" to coordinate the agreement.
