MOSCOW. Oct 23 (Interfax) - The Sochi agreements on settlement in the north of Syria and the Adana agreement provide an opportunity for Turkish-Syrian interaction in countering terrorism, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Vershinin said at a press conference in Moscow on Wednesday.
"They provide an opportunity, a mechanism of interaction between Turkey and Syria against terrorism, but this interaction - I believe this is important too - is interaction between two sovereign countries," Vershinin said.
"In other words, it's not like one party can do whatever it wants domestically and, so to speak, at its neighbor's. But this interaction of the two sovereign states envisages, among other things, that the border between these two states is controlled by one state on one side and the other on the other side," he said.
"It wasn't like that recently, because the Turks were standing on one side but there were no government forces on the other, but they are starting to now," Vershinin said.
"For that reason it is becoming possible to implement the Adana agreement, the spirit of this agreement, which means that the two sovereign states reach agreements with each other on the basis of mutual interests in countering terrorism, among other things," he said.
The joint memorandum adopted by Russia and Turkey following the two presidents' talks in Sochi on October 22 stipulates that Russia and Turkey will take measures to prevent infiltrations of terrorists (across the Syrian-Turkish border) and will facilitate the safe and voluntary return of refugees.
The parties reiterated commitment to counter terrorism in Syria. "In this framework, the established status quo in the current Operation Peace Spring area covering Tel Abyad and Ras Al Ayn with a depth of 32 km will be preserved," the memorandum said.
The Adana agreement of 1998 envisages Damascus' refusal to support the Kurdistan Workers' Party, which is banned in Turkey, and permission of Ankara to enter the territory of Syria by up to 5 kilometers to pursue members of this party.