Turkish and American military officials met in Ankara on Monday to discuss the establishment of a safe zone in northern Syria, according to the Turkish National Defense Ministry.
THE MEETİNG STARTED
The meeting started at 10:00 a.m. local time (0700GMT), the ministry said on Twitter. 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.
YPG/PKK is the Syrian offshoot of terror group PKK, which has been responsible for the deaths of nearly 40,000 people in Turkey, including many children, women and infants, for more than 30 years.
‘ANKARA HAS LİMİTED PATIENCE’
Ankara and Washington have yet to hammer an agreement on the safe zone. Turkey’s Foreign Ministry spokesman Hami Aksoy said Friday that Ankara has “limited” patience.
If efforts to find common ground with the U.S. prove unsuccessful, Turkey will have to create a safe zone in Syria on its own, said Turkey’s Foreign Ministry on Friday.