Sochi, October 23 (RHC)-- The Turkish military has halted its invasion of northern Syria, after reaching an agreement with Russia that would force Syrian Kurdish forces to retreat from a wide swath of the Syrian-Turkish border. 

The deal came after Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan met with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Sochi, Russia, on Tuesday.  Russia and Turkey agreed to carry out joint patrols along the Syrian-Turkish border. 

Thousands of Syrian Kurdish civilians have continued to flee the area and into Iraq, amid the conflict that began after President Trump spoke to Erdogan and then abruptly withdrew U.S. troops from the region, clearing the way for the Turkish invasion. 

Convoys of U.S. troops have been departing northern Syria for western Iraq, where the Pentagon initially said they would be restationed.  But the Iraqi government responded that the U.S. does not have permission to station those troops in Iraq. 

On Tuesday, Defense Secretary Mark Esper met with the Iraqi defense minister, who says the U.S. troops will leave Iraq within four weeks.