Turkey demands smaller Syria safe zone in US negotiations

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan told reporters that Turkey would demand a smaller safe zone in Syria.

His comments follow meetings with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin in Moscow.

Erdogan said: “I told Defense Minister Hulusi Akar that we should begin to work with what (the Americans had proposed). Then we can do what is necessary in the future. The agreement we have reached with the US is a correct step toward establishing a safe zone and removing the YPG from the east of the Euphrates.”

He also warned that “Turkish personnel and armored carriers are all on the border. We are in a position to do everything at any moment.”

Erdogan recently announced that Turkish troops will soon be deployed in the safe zone, and pledged that he would not let the US delay it being established.

Read the full article and more in Arab News.