First, the fighters had closed the Kurdish YPG militia in northern Syria a desperate pact with the Syrian ruler Bashar al-Assad - then followed by the deal between Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Vladimir Putin. The big losers in the region are the Kurdish militias, who have now started the required withdrawal.
"We note with satisfaction that the agreement reached in Sochi will be implemented," Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Vershinin told the Interfax news agency.
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights also reported the withdrawal of the Kurdish People's Defense Units (YPG). The Russian military police and Syrian government forces advanced to the border area, it said.
According to the agreement of Sochi, the YPG troops are now to withdraw from the remaining area west of Tal Abjad and east of Ras al-Ain. The Turkish army had already conquered the 120-kilometer border section between them since their invasion a good two weeks ago.
Kurds accuse Turkey of breaking the truce
The YPG-led militants of the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) accused Turkey of breaking the truce, which was extended on Tuesday. The Turkish army and its local Syrian allies have attacked three locations near the city of Al-Hassaka, SDF spokesman Mustafa Bali said on Twitter.
The Observatory also reported fighting in this region. From the Turkish side, there were initially no information about the allegations.
Federal Foreign Minister Heiko Maas announced in the Bundestag that he wanted to travel to Ankara on Saturday to press for a permanent ceasefire in northern Syria. In response to Defense Secretary Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer's move to set up an internationally controlled protection zone in northern Syria, Maas once again spoke critically. "The bottom line is what we can communicate with our international partners in this situation," he said. "It will depend on which plans we pursue and which not."
Kramp-Karrenbauer dampened the hope of a quick fix on the brink of a NATO defense meeting in Brussels. First talks have been encouraging, said the CDU chief. Germany agreed with Great Britain and France "that the situation is not pacified with the Sochi agreement".
Meanwhile, the Bundestag decided that the Bundeswehr will participate in the fight against the terrorist organization Islamic State (IS) in Syria and Iraq until 31 March 2020 with "Tornado" reconnaissance jets and tankers. Thereafter, the use of the aircraft stationed in Jordan to be terminated.