Russia shifts 300 Chechen military policemen to Syria

By Elena Teslova

MOSCOW (AA) - Russia shifted 300 military policemen from Chechnya to Syria, the country's Defense Ministry said on Friday.

"About 300 servicemen of the military police unit of the armed forces of the Russian Federation stationed in Chechnya arrived in the Syrian Arab Republic to perform special tasks," it said in a statement.

The ministry added it will transport to Syria 20 armored vehicles, "Tiger" and "Typhoon-U", to perform the tasks, agreed by Russian and Turkish presidents in Sochi on Oct. 22.

On Oct. 9, Turkey launched Operation Peace Spring to eliminate terrorists from northern Syria east of the Euphrates River in order to secure Turkey’s borders, aid in the safe return of Syrian refugees, and ensure Syria’s territorial integrity.

On Tuesday, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin held a meeting in Russia's Black Sea resort town of Sochi.

Ankara and Moscow reached a deal under which YPG/PKK terrorists will pull back 30 kilometers (18.6 miles) south of Turkey’s border with northern Syria within 150 hours, and security forces from Turkey and Russia will conduct joint patrols there.

In its more than 30-year terror campaign against Turkey, the PKK -- listed as a terrorist organization by Turkey, the U.S. and the European Union -- has been responsible for the deaths of 40,000 people, including women, children and infants. The YPG is the Syrian offshoot of the PKK.