Russia beefs up patrols in northeastern Syria

MOSCOW – The Russian military says it is beefing up its forces in northeastern Syria.

Russia’s Defence Ministry spokesman Maj. Gen. Igor Konashenkov said Tuesday the military was fielding additional military police units to carry out joint patrols with Turkey. He didn’t elaborate.

Konashenkov bristled at Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu’s statement that Russia wasn’t fulfilling its end of the deal. He added that Cavusoglu’s warning that Ankara could resume its military action could “exacerbate the situation.”

Last month, Russia and Turkey struck a deal in which Syrian Kurdish fighters would pull out of the frontier region. They agreed to conduct joint patrols up to 10 kilometres (6 miles) from the border in the west and east of areas seized by Turkey during its military incursion in Syria.