Turkey, US officials resume talks on Syria safe-zone

ANKARA

A meeting resumed in Ankara on Wednesday between Turkish and U.S. military officials to discuss the establishment of a safe zone in northern Syria, according to Turkey's National Defense Minister.

Talks that began on Aug. 5 about the establishment of a safe zone in Syria continued with a visiting U.S. military delegation, Hulusi Akar told reporters in the Turkish capital on Wednesday.

The meetings are expected to be completed in the coming hours, said Akar.

"We raised all of Turkey’s security concerns and exchanged views with our interlocutors," he added.

Underlining that the meetings were positive and constructive, Akar said: "We gladly observed that our interlocutors approached our views on the Syria safe zone."

He stressed that Turkey hoped to act together with its U.S. ally, reiterating that if efforts to find common ground with Washington failed, Ankara would have to create a safe zone in Syria on its own.

"Our plans on the Syria safe zone and the deployment of our troops in the field have been completed," Akar added.

Turkey expects the creation of a 20-mile (32-kilometer) safe zone in northern Syria and has stressed that it wants the YPG/PYD terror group cleared in the region.

The YPG/PKK is the Syrian offshoot of the terror group PKK, which has been responsible for the deaths of nearly 40,000 people in Turkey, including many children, women and infants, over more than 30 years.

Ankara and Washington have yet to hammer out an agreement on a safe zone.

Turkey’s Foreign Ministry said Friday that Ankara had "limited" patience and that if efforts to find common ground with the U.S. failed, Ankara would have to create a safe zone in the region by itself.