Second Northern Syria Buffer Zone

Second Northern Syria Buffer Zone
Syrian-Turkish border, Syria
TypeBuffer zone
LengthSajur River delta to Tall Abyad and Ras al-Ayn to Iraq–Syria border 30km deep excluding Qamishli town
Site information
Controlled by
Open to
the public
No
ConditionActive
Site history
Built by
In use1 November 2019 – present[3]
EventsSyrian Civil War

The Second Northern Syria Buffer Zone, part of the Sochi Agreement[4][5] (Turkish: Soçi Mutabakatı, Russian: Сочинское соглашение), is a buffer zone in northern Syria between the Turkish Armed Forces (TAF) and the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF). It was set up following a memorandum of understanding in the Russian city Sochi on 22 October 2019 by the Russian and Turkish presidents during the 2019 Turkish offensive into north-eastern Syria. Most of the zone is controlled by the Syrian Army and Russian Military Police, and some by the TAF.[6][1][7]

  1. ^ a b c d McKernan, Bethan; Borger, Julian (22 October 2019). "Turkey and Russia agree on deal over buffer zone in northern Syria". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Archived from the original on 14 December 2019. Retrieved 24 October 2019.
  2. ^ "Putin and Erdogan just did a deal on Syria. The US is the biggest loser". CNN. 23 October 2019. Archived from the original on 25 October 2019. Retrieved 24 October 2019.
  3. ^ Anadolu Agency (1 November 2019). "Turkey, Russia launch first patrols in northern Syria". Hurriyet Daily News. Archived from the original on 1 November 2019. Retrieved 1 November 2019.
  4. ^ Afrasiabi, Kaveh (25 October 2019). "Sochi agreement: A Russian overreach?". Middle East Eye. Archived from the original on 16 November 2019. Retrieved 16 November 2019.
  5. ^ "Soçi Mutabakatı - Erdoğan: Rusya, terör örgütlerinin güvenli bölgeden çıkarıldığı bilgisini yetkili mercilerimize verdi" (in Turkish). BBC. 29 October 2019. Archived from the original on 1 November 2019. Retrieved 16 November 2019.
  6. ^ "Memorandum of Understanding between Turkey and Russia on northern Syria". The Defense Post. 22 October 2019. Archived from the original on 24 October 2019. Retrieved 16 November 2019.
  7. ^ "Turkey, Russia reach deal for YPG move out of Syria border area". www.aljazeera.com. Archived from the original on 24 October 2019. Retrieved 24 October 2019.