Russia and Turkey are demarcating the borders between Syrian government forces and pro-Turkish opposition factions in the Raqqa and Hasaka countrysides, said official spokesman for the Turkey-backed Syrian National Army.
Spokesman Youssef Hammoud told DPA that what is on ground between Russia and Turkey and the government forces and the national army are interim understandings.
He said they aim at keeping the region away from the threat posed by the armed conflict and from the international issues and internationalization in the Security Council.
These understandings, he explained, have also contributed to the unprecedented deployment of the Russian army in some of Syria’s northeastern regions.
“The army now has military bases in areas northern Syria and is being handed over some bases established by the US army.”
“Russia seeks to exist on Syria’s international roads, and it is seeking to control the Aleppo-Damascus and Aleppo-Latakia roads, as well as the Aleppo-Qamishli road, which reaches the Iraqi border,” Hammoud noted.
Meanwhile, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR) has learned that the US forces prevented a Russian military patrol from crossing in the countryside of al-Qahtaniyah, east of al-Qamishli city.
According to SOHR sources, the Russian patrol wanted to explore the area of Tal Allou in al-Qahtaniyah countryside on Wednesday morning, but the US forces prevented them from doing so and forced the Russians to turn back.
It is noteworthy that Russians run patrols in Ain Issa and other areas north of Raqqa, and there is a Russian military base in Ain Issa.
The SOHR has also monitored a new stage of joint patrols between the Russian forces and their Turkish counterpart, where a joint patrol has been conducted between both parties on Hasakah – Aleppo Highway, aka “M4”.
