Turkey will form Syria "safe zone" whether Kurdish forces withdrew or not - Erdogan aide

Turkey will establish a planned "safe zone" in northern Syria through joint patrols with Russia whether the Syrian Kurdish YPG militia has withdrawn from the region or not, a top aide to President Tayyip Erdogan said on Tuesday.

Earlier, Russian Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu said that armed Kurdish forces had withdrawn from the zone near Syria's northeastern border with Turkey faster than scheduled, the TASS news agency reported, as a 150-hour deadline set by Ankara and Moscow expired at 1500 GMT.

"Turkey and Russia had set a 150-hour deadline for YPG terrorists to leave the safe zone. The time is up. We will establish (the safe zone), through joint patrols, whether or not the terrorists have actually withdrawn," said Fahrettin Altun, Erdogan's communications director.