Russia relocated a first group of three helicopters from its Hmeymim airbase to Qamishli in northeastern Syria to provide air coverage for Russian-Turkish joint patrols, the Russian Defense Ministry said Thursday.

"This is a historic moment as from this day on our air group will operate permanently at the airport of Qamishli city," the ministry's Zvezda broadcasting service said in a report.

The fleet includes a Mi-8 transport helicopter and two Mi-35 multi-purpose helicopters, and the Qamishli airport will be protected from the ground by Russia's Pantsir air defense system, Zvezda said.

In late October, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Russian President Vladimir Putin agreed at a meeting held in Russia's Sochi on the pullout of the Kurdish fighters to 30 km south of Turkey's border and the launch of joint patrols in an agreed area that excludes the city of Qamishli.

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