Turkey, US getting closer on Syria safe zone
(VOVWORLD) - Turkey and the United States are nearing an agreement on the details of a planned safe zone in northeast Syria along the Turkish border, Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said on Thursday.
 US President Donald Trump and Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu meet on the sidelines of the G20 Leader's Summit in Buenos Aires, Argentina on December1, 2018 (Photo: AFP/VNA) |
Cavusoglu was responding to a question at a news conference about Turkish talks this week with the US special envoy for Syria. Turkey wants to set up a safe zone east of the Euphrates river after the majority of US troops pull out of Syria.
Reaching the agreement has an important meaning to the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), a Kurdish-led alliance that is aided by the US in the fight against IS. In late March, the SDF flushed out IS from their last bastion in Syria but warned that the jihadists still remain a threat in places. They fear being abandoned by their patrons now that IS is beaten after US President Donald Trump announced the withdrawal of 2,000 American soldiers from Syria. Armed forces started being withdrawn last December, according to James Jeffrey, the American special envoy for Syria. He said limited numbers would star on in northeast Syria.