President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and President Vladimir Putin of Russia have announced that they signed on a 10-article agreement, which includes the removal of the People's Defense Units (YPG) from a 30-kilometer deep area on the Syrian side of the border.

 

The two leaders met in Sochi, Russia today (October 22), accompanied with foreign ministers Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu and Sergey Lavrov. The 24th meeting between Erdoğan and Putin since the 2016 coup attempt in Turkey took more than six hours.

 

Putin, speaking at a joint press conference after the meeting, said that the Syrian Constitutional Committee will hold its first meeting on October 29, the anniversary of the foundation of the Republic of Turkey. He added that the Kurds will be included in the process of the establishment of a constitution and the committee will "defend the rights of the Kurds."

 

Putin also stressed that Russia has repeatedly noted that it understands Turkey's desire to take steps to reliably guarantee its national security. "We share the concern of the Turkish side in connection with the intensification of terrorism and the growth of ethnic and religious contradictions in this area."

 

He remarked that a "durable and long-term" stabilization in Syria can be achieved only if the sovereignty and territorial integrity of the country are respected.

 

"This is a principled position, and we have discussed this in detail with the President of Turkey. It is important that our partners share this approach," he added.

 

Erdoğan spoke after Putin, announcing that the two countries have reached a "historic" 10-article agreement that includes the removal of the YPG 30 kilometers off the border with Turkey within 150 hours. Russia's military police will ensure the removal of all YPG elements and weapons from the area, according to the agreement.

 

"All YPG terrorists and their weapons in Tal Rifat and Manbij will be taken out from this region," he said, adding that Turkey will resettle refugees in the region once a "safe zone" is established. Turkey currently hosts 3.6 million Syrian refugees.

 

The two countries will also establish a mechanism to observe the implementation of the deal and conduct joint patrols, Erdoğan noted. The deal will come into effect at 12 p.m. (GMT+3) tomorrow.

 

Turkey reached a similar agreement with the US on October 17, which will expire at 10 p.m. today. Ankara launched the "Operation Peace Spring" on October 9 into northern Syria, aiming to remove the YPG and the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) from a 32-kilometer deep area and establish a "safe zone" to resettle Syrian refugees who currently reside in Turkey.