It passed without incident, said the senior column of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation Andrey Titov
HASEKE /Syria/, May 1. /TASS/. For the first time, Russian and Turkish troops conducted joint patrols over the longest distance of more than 100 km in the province of Hasakah near the city of Qamishli in northeastern Syria. It passed without incident, the senior column of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation, Colonel Andrey Titov, told reporters.
"Today, another joint Russian-Turkish patrol from the Sheyrek crossing has been completed. A special feature of the patrol was the increased length of the route, a larger number of settlements were covered. The patrol was conducted in normal mode, the personnel and equipment coped with the task. The local population in most localities welcomes the convoy, " Titov said.
The meeting of the servicemen of the two countries took place at the checkpoint near the village of Sheyrek. For the first time, the joint column of equipment covered a route of more than 100 km and monitored the situation in 10 settlements: Dellik, Sheikh Mansur, Karamania, Ghanamiya, Kirbatli, Tell Tair, Abu Qala, Rashek, Hanik, Shanajik, where, according to earlier agreements, there should be no Kurdish armed groups.
More than 60 military personnel of both countries and more than 10 pieces of equipment with the support of helicopters of the army aviation of the Russian Aerospace Forces participated in the patrol. "The flight was performed in a hot climate. The takeoff was made against the wind in an airplane way, because in these conditions it is difficult for the car to take off. We performed takeoff, flight to the specified area, search and detection of the column, established communication with them and then began escorting the column. The flight was made at an altitude of 150 m, this height allows you to perform a more detailed inspection of the area, " said the commander of the helicopter crew Vasily Smirnov.
He added that " the reconnaissance was carried out both visually and with the help of an optical sighting system." "Today the route was long, there were many settlements. The task was completed completely, " said Smirnov.
The joint patrol involved armored vehicles "Tiger", "Lynx" and "Typhoon", as well as armored personnel carriers BTR-80. Members of the Turkish Armed forces were traveling in Kirpi armored vehicles.
