ABU DHABI. Oct 15 - Damascus and the Kurds have agreed that government troops be given access to certain territories in the north of the country, Russian Special Presidential Representative for Syria Alexander Lavrentyev said.
"The Kurds have agreed to let the Syrian government troops enter certain areas. This was the most important agreement," Lavrentyev told reporters in Abu Dhabi in a comment on the results of talks involving the Kurds and Damascus.
Lavrentyev went on to confirm that the Syrian troops have entered Manbij.
It is so far hard to say whether the area in northern Syria controlled by Damascus will be broadened, he said.
He also recalled that since 1998, there have been agreements (such as the Turkey-Syrian Adana Agreement) under which Turkish troops may go as deep as five kilometers into Syrian territory to fight militants of the then Kurdish Workers' Party (PKK).
"But again, [the agreement allows for] entering from Turkish territory, not staying permanently on Syrian territory," Lavrentyev said.
"We are opposed to any permanent presence of Turkish troops in Syrian territory," he said.