Turkish, Russian defense ministers hold phone call

Defense Minister Hulusi Akar and his Russian countertpart Sergey Shoygu discussed the situation in the Middle East in a phone call, the Russian Defense Ministry said Monday.

The two ministers paid particular attention to the implementation of the Russian-Turkish memorandum on Syria, the ministry said in a statement.

"The parties discussed the situation in the Middle East region, paying special attention to the implementation of the Russian-Turkish memorandum of understanding on the settlement of the situation in the northeast of the Syrian Arab Republic and measures taken to stabilize the situation in the Idlib de-escalation zone," it said.

On Oct. 22, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a deal under which YPG/PKK terrorists will pull back 30 kilometers (18.6 miles) south of Turkey's border with northern Syria and security forces from Turkey and Russia will conduct joint patrols 10 kilometers (6.2 miles) from the Turkish border.

In its more than 30-year terror campaign against Turkey, the PKK -- listed as a terrorist organization by Turkey, the U.S. and the European Union -- has been responsible for the deaths of 40,000 people, including women, children and infants. The YPG is the Syrian offshoot of the PKK.