Summary Turkey said there was "no need" to restart its offensive against Kurdish fighters in Syria.
ISTANBUL (AFP) - Turkey said on Wednesday there was "no need" to restart its offensive against Kurdish fighters in Syria, saying that it had been informed by the US that their withdrawal from the border areas had been "completed".
"At this stage, there is no further need to carry out a new operation," the defence ministry said in a statement.
A US-brokered deal had set a 120-hour deadline for Kurdish fighters pullout from a proposed safe zone, which expired at 1900 GMT.
Turkey has agreed to "pause" its miliary action in Syria launched on October 9 on the condition that Kurdish forces withdrew from an initial 120-kilometre area from the border, following a deal with US Vice President Mike Pense last Thursday.
Turkey has, however, repeatedly threatened to restart its offensive, with President Recep Tayyip Erdogan vowing to "crush the heads" of Syrian Kurdish forces if they failed to retreat.
"At the end of the 120-hour period, the United States announced that withdrawal of PKK/YPG from the area has been completed," the Turkish defence ministry said.
US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, in a phone call with Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu Wednesday, also confirmed that US military officials informed their Turkish counterparts Kurdish forces withdrew from the safe zone, a Turkish diplomatic source said.
The announcement comes shortly after Erdogan hailed a "historic" agreement with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin to push back Syrian Kurdish fighters from its border areas.
Turkey has seized control of a "safe zone" inside Syria about 120 kilometres long (75 miles) and 32 kilometres (20 miles) deep, after it launched Operation Peace Spring on October 9.
Tuesday s agreement with Moscow will see it preserve that zone between the towns of Tal Abyad and Ras al-Ain, giving Ankara a crucial presence inside the country.
Under the agreement reached in the Black Sea resort of Sochi, "joint activities will start with the Russian Federation from Wednesday," the Turkish defence ministry said, adding that the deal with Moscow was "upholding Turkey s border security".
From noon (0900 GMT) on Wednesday, Russian military police and Syrian border guards will "facilitate the removal" of Kurdish fighters and their weapons from within 30 kilometres of the border.
Erdogan hails historic agreement with Putin over Syria
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Tuesday hailed "a historic agreement" with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin to push back Syrian Kurdish fighters from a safe zone along the border, after hours of talks between the two leaders over the conflict in Syria.
"According to this agreement, Turkey and Russia will not allow any separatist agenda on Syrian territory," Erdogan said, addressing reporters alongside Putin after the talks in the Russian city of Sochi.
Erdogan also announced a 150-hour deadline beginning on Wednesday for Syrian Kurdish YPG fighters and their weapons to be moved back 30 kilometres from areas on the Turkish border which are currently outside the scope of the Turkish offensive.
"Within 150 hours starting at 12:00 noon on October 23, YPG terrorists and their weapons will be removed to the depth of 30 kilometres and their... positions will be destroyed," Erdogan said.
In the areas covered by Tuesday s deal, Russian-backed Syrian regime forces had been deployed in agreement with Kurdish forces in a bid to stem the Turkish assault.
Under a separate agreement between Turkey and the United States reached last week, Kurdish forces were expected to pull out from one central section of Turkey s proposed "safe zone".
That deal is due to expire at 1900 GMT on Tuesday but Syrian Kurds say they have withdrawn from the central area concerned between the towns of Tal Abyad and Ras al-Ayn.
In Sochi, Erdogan said that after the 150-hour deadline, Turkish and Russian joint patrols would start in two zones stretching 10 kilometres (six miles) to the east and west of the area of Turkey s current Operation Peace Spring.
"All YPG terrorists in Tal Firat and Manbij will be removed outside this region, together with their weaponry," he said.
Erdogan also said both countries would take necessary measures against "terrorist infiltrations" and create a "joint mechanism" to coordinate the agreement.
