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Wednesday 23 October 2019 - 05:55

Turkish Defense: There is currently no need for a new military operation in Syria

Story Code : 823547
Turkish Defense: There is currently no need for a new military operation in Syria
The United States has informed Turkey in the "final phase of the 120-hour deadline" for the withdrawal of Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) militants from the area defined under the Turkish-US ceasefire agreement, the ministry said in a statement released on Wednesday night.

The ministry added that there is no need at the current stage to carry out any new operation outside the area of the peace spring operation on the northeast of Syria.

She confirmed that the joint work on the agreements reached between the Russian Presidents, Vladimir Putin and Turkish Recep Tayyip Erdogan, will be launched in Sochi on Wednesday.

The ministry pledged that Turkey would never allow the establishment of a "terrorist corridor" on its southern border, and would continue to "fight terrorism decisively."

Earlier in the day, Putin and Erdogan reached a memorandum of understanding to reduce tensions in northeastern Syria in the face of a military operation in the Turkey's region against Kurdish People's Protection Units (YPG).

This agreement provides for the deployment of elements of the Russian military police forces and Syrian border guards in the territory adjacent to the area of the Turkish operation, starting at 12:00 noon October 23.

Under the memorandum of understanding, the YPG would be given 150 hours to fully exit a 30-kilometer-deep area on the Syrian-Turkish border, after which Russia and Turkey would begin joint patrols.

The two presidents also agreed on Russia's contribution to the implementation of the 1998 Adana Agreement between Syria and Turkey, and that the two countries continue to work together to fight terrorism and repatriate Syrian refugees.

The memorandum of understanding was reached before the 120-hour deadline stipulated in the US-Turkish agreement, concluded on October 17, to stop hostilities in northeastern Syria and the withdrawal of Kurdish fighters from the region.
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