Turkey says Kurdish YPG has not fully withdrawn from Syria border region

Kurdish YPG forces in Syria have not fully withdrawn from the border territory as agreed in a Russia-brokered accord, and Turkey will soon discuss next steps with Moscow, Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said on Monday.

Cavusoglu said a Russian military delegation was coming to Turkey to discuss joint patrols set to begin on Tuesday. He repeated that if the YPG did not withdraw some 30 kms (18 miles) from Turkey`s border, Turkish forces would clear them out.

The Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) said on Sunday it had agreed to withdraw more than 30 km (19 miles) from the Turkish border, an announcement welcomed by Damascus which said Turkey should now end its "aggression" in northeast Syria.

Turkey launched its cross-border offensive on October 9 targeting Kurdish YPG forces in northeast Syria after President Donald Trump pulled US troops out of the area.

Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan and Russia's Vladimir Putin then agreed on October 22 that Syrian border guards and Russian military police would clear the border area up to 30 km into Syria of YPG fighters over a six-day period that ends Tuesday.

The YPG is the main component of the SDF and is viewed by Ankara as terrorists due to their links to Kurdish insurgents in southeast Turkey. But the SDF has been a key ally of the United States in the fight against Islamic State militants.