Turkey has handed over 18 men believed to be Syrian government soldiers who were seized in northeast Syria near the Turkish border earlier this week, the Turkish Defense Ministry said late on Thursday.

The ministry did not say who they were handed over to, but said it came about "as a result of the coordination with the authorities of the Russian Federation".

The move comes ahead of the scheduled start on Friday of joint Turkish-Russian military patrols in northeast Syria near the border.

The 18 men were seized during operations southeast of Syria"s Ras al Ain town on October, 29.