Russia deploys 300 troops to Syrian Hasakah province
Russia has sent additional military units to Syrian Hasakah province, Major Dmitry Suntsov, a chief of the joint Russian-Syrian monitoring center, said on Monday, January 18. According to him, about 300 soldiers will be deployed there. Their main task is to "contribute to the de-escalation of the conflict in the region," Suntsov said. They will make sure that the ceasefire is respected, he explained.
The Syrian province of Hasakah borders Turkey. The Russian military is stationed there as part of the agreements between Moscow and Ankara on stabilizing the situation in the region. On October 22, 2019, Presidents of Russia and Turkey Vladimir Putin and Recep Tayyip Erdogan adopted a memorandum of joint action in Syria. Under this agreement, the Russian Federation sends military police to Syrian areas that border security zones. Russian and Turkish forces are also jointly patrolling areas east of the Euphrates River.