Russia reinforces Syrian area where Turkey-backed SNA clashed with YPG

Russia has sent more military police to an area in northern Syria where Syrian National Army (SNA) backed by Turkey have clashed with the PKK terror group’s Syrian wing near a strategic highway patrolled by Russian and Turkish troops.

The deployment comes ahead of talks in southern Russia on Tuesday between Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and his Turkish counterpart Mevlut Cavusoglu.

Syria, where Moscow and Ankara have backed opposing sides but often work in conjuction, is one of the topics the two diplomats will discuss.

Battles between Turkey-backed SNA fighters and members of the YPG/PKK terror group broke out near the town of Ain Issa in northern Syria earlier this month. 

Ain Issa sits along the M4 highway that links major Syrian cities and where Russian-Turkish patrols usually take place.

Turkish forces and Syrian National Army seized territory in the region in an offensive last year against the YPG/PKK which holds swathes of north and east Syria.

READ MORE: The deceptions and misinformation behind the PKK and YPG

The US backed PYD/YPG-dominated SDF militia in a battle for Daesh terror group's territory in Syria in 2014. The YPG is the Syrian offshoot of the PKK terrorist organisation. 

In its 30-year terror campaign against the Turkish state more than 40,000 people, including women and children, have been killed.

Turkey, the US and the EU recognise the PKK as a terrorist organisation.

The PKK's growth along northern Syria poses a security threat for Ankara.

READ MORE: Russia's PYD game in Syria

The Russian defence ministry said in a statement it had sent more military police to the area on Sunday.

"We note the unstable situation in the Ain Issa area," the statement said.

"Earlier, during negotiations with the Turkish side, agreements were reached on the deployment of joint Russian-Syrian observation posts. Additional units of the Russian military police have arrived in the Ain Issa area today (Sunday) to step up efforts to stabilise the situation," it said.

Moscow, whose warplanes also patrol the area, called on both sides to stop shelling each other and to de-escalate.

It said it had not detected shelling from Turkey-backed SNA fighters during the past 24 hours.

Lavrov-Cavusoglu meeting

Cavusoglu and Lavrov are expected to address bilateral relations as well as regional issues when they meet on December 29 in Sochi.

According to a statement last week by Russia's Foreign Ministry, Lavrov and Cavusoglu will discuss the implementation of the agreement reached between Azerbaijan and Armenia on Nagorno-Karabakh.

The emphasis will be on minimising the risks of possible clashes and providing humanitarian assistance to the parties.

The visit would mark the 8th meeting of the Joint Strategic Planning Group operating within the framework of the Russian-Turkish High-Level Cooperation Council.

"The focus will be on establishing the joint Russian-Turkish centre for monitoring the ceasefire and all military operations in the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict zone," the Russian statement said.

The previous meeting of the Council was held on March 29, 2019 in Antalya, Turkey.