Turkey, Russia begin joint patrols in northern Syria: Report

Turkish and Russian troops began conducting their first joint ground patrols in northeast Syria on Friday, a Turkish military source told Reuters.

Ankara and Moscow had agreed to conduct joint patrols in the region under a deal struck by President Tayyip Erdogan and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin. Erdogan said on Wednesday the patrols would be at a depth of 7 km in Syrian territory.

In September, the leaders of Turkey, Russia and Iran meeting in Ankara agreed to try to ease tensions in northwest Syria's Idlib region, but disagreements between the countries appeared to linger, especially over the threat from Islamic State.

The summit of the three countries, all of whom have allies fighting in Syria's ruinous eight-year-old war, aimed to find a lasting truce in Syria. 

Recent attacks by Syrian government forces risk deepening regional turmoil and pushing a new wave of migrants towards Turkey.

"We are in a period when we need to take more responsibility for peace in Syria, when we (three countries) need to carry more weight," Turkey's Tayyip Erdogan said, adding that all three leaders were in agreement that a political solution was necessary to end the crisis in Syria.