Russian troops have begun patrols on the Syrian border to remove Kurdish fighters as part of an agreement with Turkey.
The forces were seen heading towards the city of Kobane in northern Syria the day after Turkey and Russia agreed measures to remove Syrian Kurdish fighters from the border and jointly patrol the area.
As part of the deal, Syrian President Bashar al Assad's forces will establish 15 posts at the border alongside Russian troops, according to the Interfax news agency.
The agreement came at the end of a five-day ceasefire which had been brokered to allow the Kurds to withdraw following Turkey's incursion into northeast Syria.
Now the Kremlin has demanded that Kurdish fighters pull back from the entire frontier or face being "steamrolled" by Turkish forces.
As Russian troops began their patrols, US President Donald Trump said Turkey was making the ceasefire permanent, prompting him to lift sanctions imposed on Turkish imports in response to the recent violence "unless something happens that we are not happy with".
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan echoed Russia's demand for Kurdish soldiers to retreat, saying his military would resume its offensive in northeastern Syria if neither Russia or the US ensured the Syrian Kurdish fighters were removed.
