Turkey Hits Brake on Syria Foray After Deals With Russia, U.S.
- Putin, Erdogan strike accord on joint patrols of Syria border
- Leaders agree on off-limits zone for Kurdish fighters
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Russia and Turkey agreed to work together to take back large chunks of Syrian territory controlled by Kurdish forces once allied with the U.S., giving each country a bigger say in how postwar Syria will look.
After six hours of talks, Russian President Vladimir Putin and Turkish leader Recep Tayyip Erdogan struck a deal on Tuesday to clear the Kurdish fighters from a zone in northeastern Syria bordering Turkey. Ankara had launched a widely deplored offensive against the Kurdish YPG militia before a temporary truce negotiated with the U.S. last week paused fighting, taking control of a strip of Syrian land along its frontier.