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Turkey says discussing return of 18 Syrian troops with Russia
ISTANBUL, Oct 31, 2019 (BSS/AFP) – Turkey is in talks with Russia about
the return of 18 people understood to be Syrian regime troops, Turkish
defence minister Hulusi Akar said Thursday.
“The delivery of 18 people found to be regime members is being discussed
with the Russians at the moment,” Akar said in comments carried on the
defence ministry’s Twitter account.
He added that two of the 18 had been treated in a Turkish hospital.
The troops in question were captured by Turkey on Tuesday in the vicinity
of the key border town of Ras al-Ain during reconnaissance activities.
Turkish authorities then investigated if their claims of being regime
troops were accurate.
President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has repeatedly said Turkey would never allow
Syrian Kurdish fighters viewed as “terrorists” by Ankara to stay on the
Syria-Turkish border wearing “regime clothes.”
Over the past month Turkey has struck deals with the United States and
Russia to push back Syrian Kurdish fighters from areas along its border with
Syria, with a view to setting up a “safe zone” where it plans to repatriate
some of the 3.6 million Syrian refugees Turkey is currently hosting.
Ankara considers the Kurdish People’s Protection Units (YPG) militia in
Syria a terror group linked to the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), the
Kurdish insurgent group outlawed in Turkey.
Joint Turkish-Russian patrols are due to start in areas near the Syrian
border on Friday, after the Kremlin said Tuesday that Syrian Kurdish fighters
had withdrawn in accordance with the terms of a deal between Ankara and
Moscow.
BSS/AFP/RY/1930 hrs