Russia, Turkey conduct first joint patrol in Idlib
The first joint Russian-Turkish patrol along Syria's M4 highway didn’t go perfectly smoothly, but bigger challenges are already looming on the horizon.
Two days after Russia and Turkey agreed to cease-fire details for the Idlib de-escalation zone, the first Russian-Turkish military patrol took place along the M4 highway March 15.
“As part of the preparations for the joint Russian-Turkish patrol of the M4 highway, engineering reconnaissance of the patrol route was carried out in the Saraqeb area,” said Rear Adm. Oleg Zhuravlev, the head of the Russian center for reconciliation of opposing sides in Syria.
On the Russian side, the joint patrol involved a military police platoon on three armored vehicles: an armored personnel carrier and Tiger and Typhoon all-terrain vehicles. The Turkish side deployed three Kirpi armored vehicles. The patrolling mission was arranged by the joint Russian-Turkish coordination center. A special communication channel continues to operate between the Russian Reconciliation Center for Syria and the Turkish military.
The patrol took about half an hour.
