MOSCOW
Russia’s president and German chancellor discussed the recent Turkish-Russian deal on Syria over the phone, the Kremlin said on Monday.
Vladimir Putin and Angela Merkel agreed that the implementation of the agreement will contribute to the stabilization in Syria, a Kremlin statement said.
“According to the mutual assessment, the implementation of the provisions of the memorandum adopted by Russia and Turkey will serve to stabilize the situation in the northeastern Syria and promote the inter-Syrian political process, including in the context of the work on the the start of the constitutional committee, scheduled for Oct. 30 this year in Geneva,” it said.
Putin stressed that the agreement respects the interests of all the sides and will work to restore the Syrian sovereignty, according to the statement.
On Oct. 9, Turkey launched Operation Peace Spring to eliminate terrorists from northern Syria east of the Euphrates River in order to secure Turkey’s borders, aid in the safe return of Syrian refugees, and ensure Syria’s territorial integrity.
On Tuesday, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and his Russian counterpart Putin held a meeting in Russia’s Black Sea resort town of Sochi.
Ankara and Moscow reached a deal under which YPG/PKK terrorists will pull back 30 kilometers (18.6 miles) south of Turkey’s border with northern Syria within 150 hours, and security forces from Turkey and Russia will conduct joint patrols there.
In its more than 30-year terror campaign against Turkey, the PKK — listed as a terrorist organization by Turkey, the U.S. and the European Union — has been responsible for the deaths of 40,000 people, including women, children and infants. The YPG is the Syrian offshoot of the PKK.
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