Turkish and Russian troops carried out their first joint ground patrols in northeast Syria on 1 October 2019 under an agreement between the two countries.

Turkish troops stopped showing up for joint patrols on February 3 amid rising tension between the two countries over Idlib.

In early February, the Turkish Armed Forces refused to participate in joint patrols with their Russian counterparts twice. Turkish troops informed a Russian officer on 6 February that they will not take part in the patrols and they were subsequently held by Russian forces alone. (ILKHA)