Putin: Russia intends to continue joint operations with Turkey in Syria
Russia will continue to conduct joint operations with Turkey in Syria, including joint patrols. Russia sees that Ankara is fulfilling its obligations, Russian President Vladimir Putin stated following the Russian-Austrian talks.
Putin recalled that during negotiations with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan who came to Sochi on a short working visit, they “got an idea to create a demilitarized zone up to 15-20 kilometers long" in order to ensure the security of Syrian civilian infrastructure, cities, settlements and a Russian military base.
"We agreed to create this demilitarized area up to 15-20 kilometers long where there should be no radical groups, including Jabhat al-Nusra, and no heavy weapons whoever they might belong to... We work together with Turkish partners and we see that they take these agreements extremely seriously and fulfil their obligations, that they ensure that militants of various radical groups leave this zone and withdraw heavy weapons," Putin noted.
"We do our share of the work and will continue planned activities, including joint patrols with the help of the Turkish armed forces and Russian military police," he stressed.