Turkey and Russia reach deal on Kurdish withdrawal

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said Tuesday Turkey and Russia have reached a deal in which Syrian Kurdish fighters will move 30 kilometers (18 miles) away from a border area in northeast Syria within 150 hours.

Speaking at a joint news conference with Russian President Vladimir Putin Tuesday, Erdogan said, the 150-hour time period would begin at noon Wednesday.

Turkey and Russia would then conduct joint patrols, he said.

The agreement came after the U.S.-backed Syrian Kurdish-led forces withdrew from an area in northern Syria that Turkey demanded be cleared of Kurdish fighters.