Turkey has restarted joint patrols with the Russian military in northeast Syria after a two-week hiatus, Russia said late on Monday, as a Syrian government offensive in the Idlib region continued to strain Moscow's ties with Ankara.
Turkey and Russia have jointly patrolled Syrian territory near the Turkish border since October. But Turkish forces had not shown up since Feb. 3, the Interfax news agency cited a Russian defense ministry official as saying.
A Turkish security source said on Feb. 7 that Ankara's joint patrols with Moscow had been postponed because of weather conditions. Their suspension coincided with rising tensions between the two countries over Idlib.